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Body of father of 3 recovered Thursday from Lake Wylie

By Blake Hanson and Greg Suskin, wsoctv.com
By Blake Hanson and Greg Suskin, wsoctv.com

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — The body of a Charlotte man was pulled from Lake Wylie Thursday morning, the day after he jumped from a boat and drowned.

Conroy Oliver, 30, known as Rorrie, was on a boat with four friends Wednesday afternoon. North Carolina wildlife officers told Channel 9 that Oliver told his friends he was going swimming. The boat was still moving.

"He told his friends his was going to jump off to swim. He swam for a distance, and then started to struggle in the water," said Tracy Dula, with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Investigators interviewed Oliver's friends, and learned what they did to try to save him.

"His friends started to help by throwing him a life jacket, and throwing a rope. They were unable to get any of that equipment to him," Dula said.

CLICK HERE to see images from the search

Two others jumped in the lake after him, but they couldn't reach him in time.

His body was found Wednesday night in about 30 feet of water, after crews swept the lake with sonar. They removed the body Thursday morning when it was safe for divers to go in.

Oliver's mother, Mary, said her family is coming together.

"We just have to find a way to get through this. We have a lot of family," she said.

She said her son was a good swimmer and she doesn’t know why he drowned. He leaves behind three children with a fourth on the way.

"This is the last thing I thought would ever happen. This was the furthest thing from my thoughts," Mary Oliver said.

Though it's not law for adults to wear life jackets on a boat, officers said Thursday that everyone should wear one regardless.

"I’ve yet to see someone drown who's wearing a life jacket," Dula said.

The body was taken by the medical examiner's office. An official cause of death has not been released.

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