A somber search concluded Monday when a state park ranger discovered the body of 27-year-old Willy Fernando Godoy Ramirez at Percy Priest Lake, not far from where his personal possessions were previously located. According to WSMV, the recovery operation was initiated after park rangers requested the aid of the Nashville Fire Department in the 2900 block of Hobson Pike.
Efforts had been ongoing to find Ramirez since his disappearance on June 25. The Metro Nashville Police Department had been leading the search, with authorities finding Ramirez's keys, car, phone, and shoes near a bluff at the lake, which ultimately became the location to tragically retrieve his remains. "There were no signs of foul play," police stated, an update mirrored by both WKRN and WGNS Radio.
Just a day before Ramirez's body was found, the lake was the scene of another tragic incident involving a five-year-old child. Family members at Hamilton Creek Park off Bell Road pulled the unresponsive body of Tobias Henock from the water. Despite immediate CPR efforts and the resuscitation attempts by first responders, Henock was later pronounced dead at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. "Youth Services detectives continue to investigate the child’s drowning, but preliminary findings indicate the death was accidental," according to a WGNS Radio report.
The deaths have cast a shadow over Percy Priest Lake, a 14,200-acre area popular for recreation from Smyrna to northwest Nashville. Both are being treated as accidents, with no charges filed as investigations continue to understand what happened, as per WGNS Radio.
