July 4th tragedy: 18-year-old drowns in South Carolina lake while on vacation with friends
- Pontez and the group had rented an AirBnB on the lakefront for the weekend
- Teams responded around 1:30 p.m. Friday and he was found the next day
The body of an 18-year-old vacationing with friends at Lake Hartwell, South Carolina, has been recovered from the water after tragically drowning.
Luiz Pontez and about ten friends had rented a lakefront Airbnb on Sunny Shore Lane in Anderson for the weekend.
They were up late Thursday night and on Friday realized he wasn’t there and called for help, sparking a frantic search.
On a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $11,000 so far, the teen’s sister wrote, “My family and I are surprised at the loss of my brother Luiz Pontes.”
“Around noon on Friday June 30th I received the worst news of my life: My brother had not been seen since 4am.
Luiz Pontez and about ten friends had rented an Airbnb on the lake shore for the weekend. The group noted that Pontez was absent on Friday
Pontez had rented a house on Sunny Shore Lane in Anderson. His body was found in Lake Hartwell on Saturday afternoon
“Family and close friends drove from Charlotte, NC to Anderson, SC for answers in hopes of finding my brother alive.”
“The search continued for hours until after 4pm the next day, Saturday July 1, his body was recovered from Lake Hartwell.”
“Anything donated will go towards his funeral expenses and the repatriation of his body to North Carolina.”
Detectives and divers searched the area for the teenager just before 1:30 p.m. Friday, including using air and sea drones.
After a heartbreaking wait of days, Pontez’s body was found Saturday afternoon.
The search operation took place shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Friday. Detectives and divers took part, and air and water drones were also used in the operation
During the search, the area around the holiday home was cordoned off
According to ABC13, it was spotted around 4.30pm about 1.5 meters from a jetty in the area.
The coroner’s office said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene of drowning in fresh water.
Officials said there was no suspicion of a crime at this time.