A 62-year-old Columbus man drowned while swimming in Luxapalila Creek Thursday afternoon, according to police.
Hugh Troy Buckelew was pulled out of the creek just south of the Waterworks Road bridge near Tuscaloosa Road by a female companion at about 12:45 p.m. Thursday, said Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant.
She tried to resuscitate Buckelew while a passerby called 911. Merchant pronounced him dead by freshwater drowning at the scene.
According to his friend, Buckelew — who knew how to swim — went underwater and came up non-responsive. Although early reports suggested he may have hit his head, there was no evidence of trauma, Merchant said.
Buckelew is survived by his son and daughter, both from out of town.
The victim and his friend had arrived in a black Ford Ranger and set up a blanket picnic-style on the bank nearby. Police found a folded towel and an aluminum cooler filled with ice, Gatorade and several 16-ounce cans of Bud Light, as well as an open can of beer.
Officers also found his wallet on a rock near the blanket, where he”d left it before seeking solace in the creek from the scorching 90-plus heat.
The last drowning in Luxapalila Creek was in March 2010, Merchant said.
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