Sheriff’s Office: Body of missing Ohio teenager found off Fripp Island after apparent accidental drowning

The body of an Ohio teenager who disappeared Sunday while swimming off Fripp Island was recovered by divers around noon Monday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Franklin “Eric” Clark, 16, of Worthington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, was reported missing around 2:30 p.m. Sunday after he was last seen swimming in approximately 7-foot-deep water, said Fripp Island Property Owners Association general manager Kate Hines.

Clark was visiting the island with his basketball team, Hines said.

Contacted Monday, Capt. Bob Bromage of the Sheriff’s Office was not immediately aware of where Clark’s body was found. The Sheriff’s Office said based on witness accounts, Clark’s death appears to have been an accidental drowning.

If officially ruled a drowning, his death would be the second drowning in Beaufort County so far this year, county coroner Ed Allen said Monday.

The first happened in a pond at Burton Wells Park on April 6, claiming the life of Javonte Colleton, 22, whose body was recovered along with his electric wheelchair, authorities said. The Sheriff’s Office in April said Colleton’s death was being investigated as a homicide, though the manner of death has not been determined.

The search for Clark was suspended around 8 p.m. Sunday and picked back up about 5 a.m. Monday, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release and Michael Beach, communications officer for Fripp Island Sea Rescue.

Those swimming with Clark told the Sheriff’s Office they believe he was caught in an undertow. All other swimmers out at the time have been accounted for, authorities said.

According to a Sheriff’s Office report made shortly after Clark disappeared, three other juveniles were in the water with Clark at the time. They “wanted to get into bigger waves,” and Clark started to have trouble swimming, the report said.

One of the teens tried to help him and then swam back to shore to call for help, according to the report. Another teen began to try to help but lost sight of Clark under the water, the report said. Once they reached shore, an adult called for emergency help.

The stretch of shoreline where the team was swimming is about three miles long, Hines said, and Clark disappeared around access point 28 of the island’s 31 beach access points.

Beach said Fripp Island Sea Rescue gets roughly 20 to 30 calls annually, many of which turn out to be kayakers who get stranded too far from shore, boats that run out of gas or other situations that can be resolved. There have been 10 calls so far in 2017, with six of those happening within the past month.

It was an “all-hands-on-deck”-type situation to find Clark, Beach said. Fripp Island does not have lifeguard services on its shoreline, Hines said, but added that swimmers are in the water there “all the time.”

Clark’s basketball team and coach have rented a house on the island for three years for a team training camp, Hines said.

Clark was a junior at Thomas Worthington High School, according to an email sent out to staff Monday by the school’s principal, Pete Scully.

“Eric was known for his natural ability to lead, a kind heart, his strong work ethic and easygoing nature,” Scully wrote. “Adults often described him as wise beyond his years.”

Clark also played on the school’s football team and was a part of the district’s Entrepreneurial Business Academy program, Scully wrote.

A vigil has been planned by the basketball team for Tuesday on the high school’s front lawn to celebrate Clark’s life.

A forensic autopsy has been scheduled by the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office at the Medical University of South Carolina to determine Clark’s cause of death, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted on Fripp Island by the U.S. Coast Guard, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, Beaufort Marine Rescue, Fripp Island Security, the Fripp Island Fire Department and Fripp Island Sea Rescue, the release said.

This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 8:50 AM with the headline "Sheriff’s Office: Body of missing Ohio teenager found off Fripp Island after apparent accidental drowning."