Teenager drowns in Coffee County pond

Ebony Horton/Dothan Eagle
Published: July 12, 2008

Coffee County officials said an Ozark boy’s fishing trip turned tragic after he and three other boys went swimming in a private pond Saturday.

Covington and Houston County dive teams recovered the body of 16-year-old Chris Adam Branch just before 4 p.m. after he drowned in water about 8-feet deep on County Road 707, near Enterprise, according to Enterprise Police Commander William Pennington.

According to Coffee County coroner Robert Preachers, the boys were given permission on Thursday to go fishing in the pond but were specifically told not to go swimming. On Saturday, the boys said it was hot and decided to swim anyway.
Chris swam to the middle of the pond but “gave out” before he could make it back, Preachers said.

At least one boy tried to swim to save Chris. The boys then went to get a boat to rescue Chris but were unsuccessful. They called police around noon.

“It’s just one of those unfortunate accidents where he thought he could make it back and forth, which was hard ... in jeans ... even for a good swimmer to do,” Preachers said.

Pennington said the drowning remains under investigation.