SEMINOLE, Fla. — Hours after being rescued, Shawn Thomas died in Lake Seminole on Friday while trying to recover his boat from the water.
Seminole Fire Rescue first responded to a disabled vessel taking on water with occupants onboard on Friday around 2:17 p.m. Deputies found Thomas and Alexandra Dumervil, 37, in Lake Seminole at 10015 Park Boulevard and safely brought them to shore, Pinellas sheriff’s deputies said in a media release.
Thomas was senior pastor of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg.
Later in the day, Thomas called his friend, 74-year-old Joe Wright, to help him retrieve the boat. Wright used his boat to take Thomas back onto the lake. After the 39-year-old returned onto his own vessel, it capsized and he slipped into the water, deputies said.
Wright tried to rescue Thomas, but lost sight of his friend, who was not wearing a life vest.
After receiving multiple calls around 5:42 p.m. about a man drowning in Lake Seminole, deputies enlisted marine, flight and dive units to search for Thomas.
His body was located at 9:47 p.m., about 10 yards away from where he was last seen.
Andy Oliver, senior pastor of Allendale Methodist Church in St. Petersburg and a protest organizer, said Thomas contacted him three years ago and they had bonded in their belief that clergy should be involved in the community’s fight for justice.
“The way I’m grieving most is that there were so many things we were supposed to do together for justice,” Oliver said. “Now I have to double my efforts.”
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