Grandfather, teen grandson drown in Monroe Co. pond
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The pond is off Basin Creek Road near Tellico Plains.By SHELBY BAKER
6 News Reporter
TELLICO PLAINS (WATE) -- A grandfather and his teenage grandson drowned Tuesday afternoon while they were fishing in a Monroe County pond.
The victims are Wayne Gay, 68, and his grandson, Josh Ownby, 15.
It happened off Basin Creek Road near Tellico Plains.
According to the sheriff's office, Ownby was swimming when he started having problems. Gay went in the water to save his grandson, but both of them drowned.
One neighbor, Leta Wermasek, said she saw Gay shortly before the accident.
"I was mowing my grass this morning when he came back from work and waved his hand and went on," Wermasek said.
When emergency crews went racing by her house about 20 minutes later, she had no idea her neighbor and his grandson had drowned.
"I have a grandson and he could have taken off and walked back there and the same thing happened to him. It's just very sad that two members of the same family are gone."
The owner of the property says just a few weeks ago, Gay came to him and asked if his grandsons could swim in his pond.
Investigators believe the deaths were accidental.
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