Overview
- Witnesses and a 911 caller reported that a 24-year-old man went under after entering the water from a boat on Lake Anna on Thursday evening, prompting emergency calls from bystanders.
- First responders from Louisa County and Spotsylvania County launched an extensive search after the report came in around 7:30–7:40 p.m., with dive teams and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources assisting.
- Divers located and recovered a body just before midnight after hours of searching, and the recovery was announced by Spotsylvania deputies.
- Spotsylvania County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management identified the victim as 24-year-old Mason Fercovic-Ortegel, said he was off-duty at the time, and called his death a "heartbreaking loss."
- Authorities have completed the search and recovery but have not released an official cause of death, and the department has asked the public to keep Fercovic-Ortegel’s family and coworkers in their thoughts as they provide support and resources to those affected.