Overview

• Polk County deputies responded to Lake Clinch in Frostproof just before 2:30 p.m. Sunday after reports that 52-year-old Pierre Richard Plourde had gone under while trying to reach his drifting boat.
• Witnesses said Plourde yelled for help as he struggled in the water and a friend attempted a rescue before losing sight of him.
• The Polk County Sheriff’s Office marine unit located Plourde about 150 yards offshore at the lake bottom using side-scan radar and an underwater drone.
• On Lake Damon in Avon Park, 29-year-old Chase Parrish fell into the water during a fishing outing with another person, who swam back to the vessel to call 911 before Parrish was later found deceased, according to FWC.
• Authorities in Polk and Highlands counties said both deaths are under investigation, and local instructors urged basic water-safety steps such as wearing Coast Guard–approved life jackets and using back-float breathing techniques.