Officials identify 2 men killed after going over Pickwick Dam

HARDIN COUNTY, Tenn. — Tragedy stuck Wednesday afternoon at a popular spot many people go to find peace.

“I would not advise anyone to put a boat in there at all. It is very, very dangerous,” one man said.

Two bodies were recovered Wednesday below Pickwick Dam after officials say they and their boat were swept over the concrete edge.

The men have now been identified as Casey Cox, 32, and Michael Terry, 69, both from Chester County.

“Two males were on the lake side of the dam at Pickwick and went through the spillway or they might have gone over,” TWRA Spokesman Doug Markham said. “Somehow, they went from that side of the dam to the other side of the dam.”

Hardin County fire officials said security cameras captured the moment when an aluminum flat-bottom boat with two men on board went over the edge.

“It started on the lake side of the dam and ended up on the other side of the dam, the tail water side of the dam,” Markham said.

Officials said the strong currents carried the bodies several miles down the river.

“We saw the Air Evac probably around 1 p.m., and it did go upriver from the dam,” one witness said.

Investigators spent hours combing both sides of the dam hoping more evidence in this tragedy will wash ashore.

“Getting their boat removed and going to take it to a place where we can do some more investigation with boat investigators that might be able to identify exactly what happened,” Markham said.

People said this is not the first time an incident like this has happened.

One woman said she remembers when a pontoon boat was swept over the dam with two people on board.