Puxico man drowns while swimming at Wappapello Lake

WAPPAPELLO LAKE, Mo. -- A day of boating and swimming on Wappapello Lake ended tragically Sunday when a Puxico man drowned.

The victim has been identified as Jerry L. Pennington, 55. He was pronounced dead at 7:15 p.m. by Wayne County Coroner Gray Umfleet and is the fourth drowning in Troop E this year.

The incident happened at about 5:10 p.m. "right around the old tree," which is located about 2 miles west of the dam, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Cpl. Shayne Talburt.

"They were wading out there around the old tree," Talburt explained. "He began to swim to the boat. It got deep on him, and he began to struggle. Pennington went under water, submerged and did not resurface."

Talburt said one of the four other passengers in his boat threw Pennington a personal-flotation device, but it came up short.

Troop E marine operations were called to the scene, and "we began side scan and dragging operations," Talburt said.

Pennington was recovered within approximately 25 to 30 minutes by "dragging methods," by the patrol, with assistance from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel, Talburt said. "He drowned in approximately 6 foot of water."

Talburt estimated it was approximately 100 feet between where Pennington was wading and the boat.

"Right there, at the tree, is kind of flat, and they waded out there into it," Talburt said. " ... They had just been anchored out there for a while at the tree swimming."

When Pennington began to swim back, Talburt said, he went a couple of feet, then it "dropped off a couple feet over his head. That's when he started struggling."

At this time, Talburt said, it is not known how strong of swimmer Pennington was.

"I want to emphasize the importance of wearing a personal-floatation device and having one available," Talburt said.