Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-30
BEFORE
PIEDMONT
THRONG
SeweIPs Corpse Brought to Sur
face After AII-Night Search.
Storm Overwhelmed Him.

The body OF Joe sewell, aged Is.
of SO Mansfield Street. was dragged
from the bottom Of Piedmont Lake 1T
5 o'clock Monday morning. twelve
hours after he went down without one
of the thousands Of bathers or watch
ers noting his plight
The lad entered the lake at about 3
o'clock Sunday afternoon. He was
missed when all the hathers left the
pond and his clothes were found In
the locker rooms.
Nick Seymour. a keyboy, gave the
alarm. In a few minutes searchers
were at work. and through the night
the red glare OF the torches in the
boats moving up and down the lake
told the anxious watchers on tho
banks the body had not been found.
Not a Good swimmer
Young seweil probably went to his
death when the windstorm Sunday
afternoon dashed the waters OF the
little lake into high waves. Not a
good swimmer, he was last seen at
one Of the diving RATS. which ne
reached after futile effort to vie
with the better swimmers and eross
the lake.
He probably chung to this raft when
the storm broke. and either the waves
tore him away or he tried to reach the
shore and was too weak to battle the
wind chopped lake.
The pavilion along the bank held
thousands OF spectators. The pond
was literally dotted with the heads Of
swimmers, lighting their way to shore.
The boy could not have been mors
than ten feet away from some one Of
the many. Yet no one heard MIN cry
for help; none noticed the Struggling
form give up its fight and sink.
Lake Quickly Deserted.
In less than three minutes after the
first strong gust OF wind that heralded
the storm the lake and the pavilion
were deserted. A few who had crowd.
ed into the bathing house for safety
noticed no sign OF life on the wind
lashed lake. and It was not until the
wind had subsidized and the lake was
as calm and placid as a mirror that
the lads fate was suspected and the
search for the body begun.
w. r. Eehols. OF Is orme Street.
went in bathing with seweil. He said
he had last seen his friend at about
8 o'clock. He was swimming toward
the first diving tower. That he
reached 1t and remained there until
the storm threatened Echols had no
doubt, He said his young friend was
not a good swimmer, and that he was
surprised TO ind him 30 far from the
shore as the diving tower.
Search Begun at ones.
When the lads body was missed
Lifesavers McDermott and Baker en-
tered their boats and commenced to
drag the lake. Before an hour had
pasesd more than eight searching
parties we're in boats with graphing
hooks trailing along the bottom.
Several times the searchers stopped
to listen to some one who thought
they had seen the boy leave the lake.
One woman stopped the search for
more than an hour to have the police
follow milk wagon in which she
had seen a bather climb. The lad
was found to be someone else who
had climbed into the wagon because It
went toward his home.
Darkness Hampers Ssarehera.
When night fell Chief e. L. lett
took charge Of the search. 1t was 50
dark the searching boats frequsntiy
crashed together as the rowers drag
ged the hooks In an effort to keep in
a gradually widening circle The IA.
tiiity OF continuing the hunt in the
dark became apparent. and lett dis
patched an officer TO get torches from
the fire department The search then
was Kept up until the body was found.
Sewell was the son OF the Rev. and
Mrs. J. A. Sewell, of Newnah. He
had been in Atlanta about SIX months
He is survived by two brothers and
three sisters. They are DIiiard Sew
ell. Of Philadelphia; OHM sewslL Of
Newman, and Misses Annie Lop and
Isabelle seweIl Of Newman. q ?