UPDATE: The body of a man who went missing near Percy Priest Lake last week has been recovered. According to Metro Nashville Police, 27-year-old Willy Fernando Godoy Ramirez likely drowned after jumping into the water this past Wednesday, June 25.
Ramirez’s car was found parked near a bluff along the lake, close to where his body was discovered five days later. On Monday afternoon, Metro Police confirmed that a state park ranger located Ramirez’s remains near the bluff where his personal belongings had been found earlier. Authorities say there were no signs of foul play in his death. The incident occurred near the 2900 block of Hobson Pike in Nashville.
This tragic incident follows another drowning at Percy Priest Lake just a day before. On Tuesday, a five-year-old child died while swimming with family at Hamilton Creek Park off Bell Road.
According to Metro Police, the boy, identified as Tobias Henock, was swimming when he went underwater and did not resurface. Family members frantically searched for him and pulled his unresponsive body from the water minutes later. They immediately began CPR while others called 911 for help.
When Metro Police from the Hermitage Precinct arrived at 6:52 PM, the family was still performing CPR. Officers took over resuscitation efforts until Nashville Fire personnel arrived. Tobias was transported by ambulance to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Youth Services detectives continue to investigate the child’s drowning, but preliminary findings indicate the death was accidental. Witnesses told officers that Tobias had been missing for several minutes before his father found him and brought him to shore.
No charges have been filed in either incident. Police say that, at this point, both deaths appear to be tragic, accidental drownings at Percy Priest Lake.
From Smyrna, the Percy Priest Lake stretches upwards towards the northwest to Nashville. It's a large 42-mile long lake that is a man-made reservoir. The body of water covers 14,200 acres, encompassing parts of Davidson, Rutherford, and Wilson counties.