Copiah County man’s body recovered from Ross Barnett Reservoir

RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) - A Copiah County man is dead after witnesses say he went boating during Tuesday morning’s bad weather.

According to Reservoir Police Chief Carlos Dipuma, a witness saw the man going onto the Ross Barnett Reservoir as bad weather came in on Tuesday.

Police received a call about an abandoned boat in the Goshen area around 10 a.m.

Officers arrived on the scene to find an empty boat near a boat ramp there.

During the investigation, an officer discovered a man’s body in the water.

The man was wearing the clothes fitting the description provided by a witness.

He was believed to be struck by lightning.

Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including the Rankin County Emergency Operations Center, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, and others.

Officials from Copiah County are currently reaching out to the man’s family.

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