Authorities say they haven’t determined why a Landis man who drowned in Badin Lake on Wednesday fell from his boat into the water.
Gerald Mitchell Gray Jr., 41, will be buried Sunday at West Lawn Memorial Park in China Grove. His family will receive friends 6-8 p.m. Saturday at Whitley’s Funeral Home in Kannapolis.
Lt. John Howell with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said authorities got a call around midday Wednesday after someone spotted an empty boat going in circles on Badin Lake near the old Whitney boat landing.
The boat, which has an outboard motor, eventually beached itself. Emergency responders found Gray’s body in the water where the boat had been circling, Howell said. He had been boating alone, Howell said.
The Wildlife Resources Commission is still investigating what caused Gray’s accident and could release its findings next week, Howell said. There was no indication Gray was impaired, he said.
Survivors include Gray’s wife and children, a granddaughter, his parents and two brothers.