Man Drowns in Mississippi While Swimming With Friends

(Tipton County) A man drowned in the Mississippi River while swimming with his friends.

It happened Thursday evening near the Randolph community in Tipton County.

The name of the victim has not been released, but investigators say it is a white male, and he is around 30-years-old.

Investigators say the three men were swimming in the river when one of the guys decided to swim to a sand bar.

“He was swimming to the sand bar and on his way back he became in distress and was not able to make it back to the other side,” Tipton County Chief Deputy Billy Daugherty said.

Daugherty said his friends made an unsuccessful attempt to rescue him, then ran to a nearby restaurant to call for help. 

Soon rescue boats filled the river, but the man was already dead.

For the next two hours they tried to recover his body which was an arduous task for rescue crews.

“The bank is very steep and there is a lot of riff-raff rock in the location,” Daugherty said.

The victim’s body was eventually recovered just before 9 p.m.

A sad reminder for many in the area of how dangerous swimming in the mighty Mississippi can be.

“The river is powerful. its unpredictable and has the reputation for being unforgiving,” Daugherty said.”We have covered many drownings over the years here at the Mississippi because it’s not designed to be swam in by people. The conditions are dangerous.”