Missing Hunter Found Dead in Lake Hartwell: Investigators Probe Presumed Drowning Incident

December 30, 2025
Missing Hunter Found Dead in Lake Hartwell: Investigators Probe Presumed Drowning Incident
  • A welfare check on December 23 revealed the truck owned by Edmond, triggering a missing-person investigation as neighbors and family later noted his extended absence beyond the usual pattern.

  • South Carolina Department of Natural Resources divers recovered Edmond’s body around 5:40 p.m. on December 29, while investigators continue examining the death circumstances.

  • The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to a reported help call at the boat ramp on December 20, locating an older-model Ford truck but no person.

  • An autopsy has been ordered to determine the exact cause and manner of Edmond’s death, with drowning presumed as the likely cause.

  • The coroner’s office regards the death as a presumed drowning and plans an autopsy to aid the ongoing investigation.

  • No other injuries were reported; the investigation involves the coroner, sheriff’s office, and SC DNR, and the body was found by DNR divers in a cove near Timberlake One subdivision.

  • Officials have not released an official cause of death as investigators review evidence and witness statements.

  • Authorities believe Edmond died on the morning of December 20 while attempting to cross a cove in a small boat to go deer hunting, with exact circumstances still under investigation.

  • A 50-year-old man, Douglas John “DJ” Olin Edmond Jr., was found dead in Lake Hartwell on December 29, 2025, around 5:40 p.m. by DNR divers at about 36 feet deep in a cove near Timberlake One subdivision.

  • Edmond’s body was recovered from a cove of Lake Hartwell at roughly 36 feet, with local authorities continuing the case.

  • Divers from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, coordinating with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Department, located and retrieved Edmond on December 29 at about 5:40 p.m. in a cove near the Timberlake One subdivision in Seneca.

Summary based on 9 sources


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