Labor Day Drowning Claims Senior Citizen In Sparta's Lake Mohawk

SPARTA, NJ — Tragedy struck in Lake Mohawk on the Labor Day holiday when an 80-year-old man using an inner tube to help him make his way from his boat to the shore, lost his grip on the tube, disappearing under the water.

Lt. John Lamon, a spokesperson for the Sparta Police Department, said boaters, lifeguards and the police department began the search for Lawrence Botts, 80, after the department received calls that he slipped off of the inner tube and into the lake around noon on Monday.

Botts reportedly grabbed the tube to travel from his boat onto the lake’s shore, when he was having trouble getting onto his dock.

With Lake Mohawk lifeguards helping to search for Botts as local rescue dive teams were on the way to the scene, it was the lake’s lifeguards from the private lake community who located Botts' body, Lamon said.

Botts’ drowning is being classified as "accidental" at the present time, Lamon reported to Patch.

Following the impact of Ida's remnants during the previous week, both Lake Mohawk and nearby Lake Hopatcong have imposed “no wake” zones lake-wide until further notice, because of each of the lakes' higher levels.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.