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STOKESDALE — A teenager from Thomasville died Saturday after becoming tangled in fishing line and drowning while swimming in Belews Lake.

The victim, 16-year-old Joshua James Soloman of 200-C Memorial Park Drive, was pronounced dead just after 2 p.m. at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, said Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.

Page said the teen was shore-side fishing with family members about 11:45 a.m. near Oak Level Church Road and Humphrey’s Ridge Drive.

Page said the teen jumped into the water and became tangled in fishing line as he tried to return to shore.

As the boy struggled in the water, family members called for help. Fisherman Mark Waterhouse rushed to the scene in his jon boat.

Waterhouse said he nearly rescued the boy and almost pulled him to the surface of the water by a fishing line, but the line snapped and the teen sunk.

“I had him almost 5 to 10 feet from the surface. The line broke, so I dove in off my boat into the water and tried to rescue him but I couldn’t,” Waterhouse said.

“He sunk faster than my dive was. I was unable to catch him. He went so deep we couldn’t see him.”

Emergency officials arrived and Waterhouse said he helped them find and pull Soloman from the water.

Witnesses estimated the teen was submerged for about 20 minutes.

Tracy Young, who was fishing with the family, said the teen jumped in the water to go swimming — against the advice of family members.

Rockingham County EMS, with CPR in progress, rushed the teen to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he later died.

The death is under investigation by the sheriff’s office.

Page said is the first drowning death in Belews Lake this year and the second at the lake on the Rockingham County side since 2004, the sheriff said.

The lake borders Forsyth, Guilford, Rockingham and Stokes counties.
 

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com
 

Contact Nelson Kepley at 373-7333 or nelson.kepley@news-record.com