Body of Missing Boater Recovered from Tombigbee River
By J. Thomas Wade
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
June 19, 2026
Sumter County, Ala.
The body of a missing boater in the Tombigbee River has now been recovered according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. (ALEA)
The body of Damond E. Driggers, 48, of Millry, Washington County, was found near Gainesville in Sumter County, Alabama.
Authorities responded to the overdue boater and began an extensive search.
According to ALEA, Driggers was operating a 17‑foot aluminum duck boat at around 12 a.m. on Sunday, June 14, 2026, when he went overboard and fell into the water.
He did not resurface and was not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) at the time. Investigators also noted that he was not using an emergency cutoff switch.
After an extensive search, the body was found at around 8:10 a.m. on Monday, June 15, 2026, close to the same location where he fell in.
The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division had launched a search after the incident, which was suspended late Sunday but resumed Monday morning until Driggers was found.
Authorities thanked the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and numerous volunteers for their assistance in the search and recovery operations WAKA 8+1.
This case is one of two Alabama boaters reported missing over the weekend.
On Saturday, Lowell L. Hinton, 61, fell off a pontoon boat on a north Alabama lake and was later found deceased.
No further details about the cause of death or additional circumstances have been released at this time.
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