Boating fatality reported on Watts Bar Reservoir: TWRA

A man was found dead in Watts Bar Reservoir in Tennessee on Sunday, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). Leyroy Fairbanks, 59, from Meigs County, was reported overdue after a fishing trip at around 8:30 p.m. His family went to the ramp he used and discovered his boat adrift. TWRA officials searched alongside Meigs County and Rhea County Rescue, plus sheriff’s departments and fire departments. Rescue crews recovered Fairbanks’ body. TWRA said he was not wearing a life jacket at the time. The agency cited this as Tennessee’s 19th boating-related fatality in 2026, with a previous fatality earlier in February at the same reservoir.