CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — A 72-year-old Florida man is dead after falling overboard on a pontoon boat at Sand Island on Watts Bar Reservoir Friday, according to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
TWRA said Stephen Mason of Homosassa, Florida was boating with his wife and friends when he fell into the water and suffered bodily injuries.
He was not wearing a life jacket, according to the TWRA.
TWRA game wardens, along with the Rhea and Meigs County sheriff’s offices, emergency medical services and volunteer agencies, responded to a 911 call shortly after 2 p.m.
Mason died at the scene, according to the TWRA.
Mason’s death is the 16th boating-related fatality in Tennessee in 2026, according to TWRA.