HENRY COUNTY, Tenn — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency responded to a call about an unresponsive man found in the water near a boat on Kentucky Lake at approximately 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 19.
A 75-year-old man was pulled from the water by a good Samaritan. After extensive life-saving efforts by bystanders and Henry county EMS, James David Heath was pronounced dead at the scene by the Henry County coroner.
A preliminary investigation determined that Mr. Heath, from Paris, had launched his Skeeter boat from the Springville Pumphouse boat ramp and somehow ended up in the water near Pleasant View Marina. Mr. Heath was not wearing a life jacket.
This is the sixth boating related fatality in Tennessee for 2024 and the first fatality in West Tennessee.