Teen Drowns in Lake Anna Following July 4 Celebration

A northern Virginia teenager drowned in Lake Anna early Sunday morning.

Justin Briggs, 19, of Fairfax, was last seen on a dock along the lake at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to WTVR.

The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office told the Free-Lance Star that when others in Briggs’ group awoke later Sunday morning, he was nowhere to be found.

Authorities later recovered his body from the lake approximately 20 feet from where it had been last seen. Briggs was a McLean native and a 2014 graduate of Langley High School.

Briggs’ death follows a similar incident that occurred in the area last July 4.

Last year, a 7-year-old girl drowned on July 4 night in the lake at the Lake Wilderness development in Spotsylvania County. The girl was part of a large group preparing to celebrate Independence Day when the group noticed the girl had disappeared.

Authorities were eventually called, and after nearly two hours of searching her body was recovered from the lake by the Spotsylvania County Fire Department’s Rescue and Dive Team.