Valley resident cuts grass then dies from apparent drowning in Lake Harding

A resident of Valley died Saturday evening from an apparent drowning in Lake Harding.

Mark Frazer Sinks, 57, was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:55 p.m., Lee County Coroner Bill Harris announced on his office’s Facebook page.

According to the news release, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call to a residence on Lee Road 785 around 7:30 p.m. Beulah Fire and Rescue and East Alabama Medical Center EMS also responded. An EAMC paramedic found Sinks in the water a few feet from shore about 50 minutes after the 911 call.

“It is reported that Sinks went into the water after cutting grass, and when his wife could not locate him, she called 911,” Harris said in the news release. “The death investigation is ongoing, and no other details are available at this time. Sinks’ body will be taken to the medical examiner’s office of the Alabama Dept. of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for a postmortem examination.”

This story was originally published July 1, 2018 at 10:23 AM.