A Salisbury teenager drowned Sunday afternoon in High Rock Lake.
Erik T. Melendes, 17, of 161 Ryan St., drowned at Pebble Beach, near the Flat Swamp access area in Davidson County. Melendes was trying to swim from a roped area back to the shore when he began to struggle, the Davidson County Sheriff’s Department reported. Around 4 p.m. he went under water and efforts to rescue him were unsuccessful.
The Sheriff’s Department reported that Deputy Billy Medford threw Melendes a rope, but Melendes couldn’t reach it. Medford regularly patrols the lake but is not certified in rescue training, the Sheriff’s Department said.
The Davidson County Rescue Squad was called, and divers from Healing Springs Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Department spent 40 minutes finding Melendes’ body.
Melendes was pronounced dead at Lexington Memorial Hospital.
He worked for Rockwell Farms, a greenhouse operation owned by Tom Abramowski. Abramowski was not available for comment this morning.
After several accidents and drownings last year on the Yadkin River, officials posted warning signs to alert swimmers of deep water. The signs — printed in English and Spanish — read “Swim at your own risk.”
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