Missing boater in Lake Purdy identified
Published 10:00 pm Monday, September 29, 2008
A missing boater found dead in Lake Purdy last week has been identified as Jimmie Lee Roy, 64, of 7320 Joppa Avenue in Birmingham.
Roy was identified through fingerprints by the Birmingham Police Department, said Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Stan Pitts.
Roy’s body was found around 1 p.m. Thursday. Hoover and Jefferson County dive teams initiated a search and rescue mission for Roy on Tuesday, when a witness saw Roy fall into Lake Purdy from a small fishing boat at about 2:30 p.m.
Roy was wearing a life jacket, but appeared unable to swim.
The search and rescue mission changed to a recovery operation Wednesday afternoon. The Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service gave the dive teams a rest and scaled down the search.
Lake Purdy, a popular spot for avid fishermen, is located 25 minutes east of downtown Birmingham on Highway 119, and is one of Birmingham’s water supply facilities.