A 52-year-old man died Wednesday afternoon near Bayou Point on Lake Hamilton after he was ejected from a boat and struggled back to shore with the help of a bystander, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and local fire officials said.
AGFC will release his name when next of kin are notified, Keith Stephens, chief of communications, said Thursday in an email.
Stephens said the man was not wearing a life jacket or a kill switch and was the single occupant of the boat.
A witness heard the cries for help from the bank and swam out to try to save the man, bringing him back to shore, according to Piney Fire Chief Scott Miser.
"Neither of them had a life jacket and it was a struggle and by the time he made it to the dock he was not breathing," Miser said. "So we did CPR for a lengthy time with no luck."
Miser said Thursday it was unknown whether the man drowned.
"One witness said he was screaming after he fell out of the boat so it's hard to say. But a life jacket would have definitely made a difference," Miser said.
According to Capt. Tod Johnson with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, only small abrasions were found on the body.
"It could be a drowning, but ... the coroner hasn't given us a definite yet, so we're not sure," Johnson said. The AGFC is conducting the boating investigation, the report from which should be done in a week, he said.
Johnson said he knew him personally.
"He was well-liked by everybody in this town," Johnson said. "He had many friends. Never met a person that wasn't friends with him in the first 15 minutes he talked to him. For his line of work ... just a super professional guy that was meticulous and customer service at his business was top-notch."