A 16-year-old boy who drowned over the weekend while swimming at Cheah State Park was easy to love, according to those who knew him.
Thatcher Rigsby, of Lincoln, died Sunday morning when he became distressed while swimming in Cheah Lake.
A GoFundMe has been launched to help with his burial.
“Thatcher was loved by so many,” organizer Jenifer Peters wrote on the fundraising site. “Thatcher touched so many lives in our school system and will be missed tremendously.”
The Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the lake at 11 a.m. Sunday. At the time of the 911 call, units were notified that the teen boy was swimming in the designated swimming area, became distressed, went under the water and never returned to the surface.
A short time later, Thatcher was found near where he was last seen and was recovered by rescue squad units on scene and was pronounced dead on the scene by Cleburne County Coroner, Adam Downs.
The coroner said Thatcher’s body is being sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for autopsy to determine the officials cause of death. No foul play is suspected.
“These types of calls are not always easy for the first responders and especially for the family and friends of the deceased,’’ said Sheriff Jon Daniel. “Our prayers are with the family of this young man and the agencies who came out and assisted today.”
Multiple agencies assisted in the search and recovery including Cleburne County EMS, Cleburne County Coroner’s Office, Hollis Fire & Rescue, Alabama State Parks Law Enforcement Division, Oxford Police Department Aviation Unit, Clay County Dispatch, Lineville Police Department, Clay County Sheriff’s Department, Shinbone Fire Department, Clay County Rescue Squad, Clay County Coroner’s Office, Randolph County Rescue Squad, and the Cheaha State Park staff.
“Thatcher Ralph Rigsby was not a student any teacher would forget,” one of his former teachers, Laurie Davis Mills, wrote on Facebook. “He made us laugh and found so much joy in the smallest things.”
“He was so easy to love,’’ Mills wrote. “I’m so thankful I got to be his fifth-grade teacher. He will be missed by so many.”
Donations to the GoFundMe can be made here.
