The authorities have issued a tragic statement in the case of the 18-year-old star athlete who disappeared on a kayaking trip with a friend last weekend. Fox 13 was reported.
Aaron Tillman's body was found in Lake McLeod, Fla., after a 14-hour search, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a video posted on Facebook. It was found in water approximately 13 meters deep.
Tillman, a football player and wrestler at Winter Haven High School, disappeared Sunday afternoon around 3 p.m. while on a kayaking trip with an unidentified 19-year-old woman. Neither Tillman nor his companion were wearing life jackets, the sheriff's office reported. Tillman's family later informed authorities that he could not swim and, to their knowledge, had never been in a kayak.
“The woman told deputies she jumped into the water from the kayak to swim, but when she resurfaced, she saw Tillman in the water and trying to stay afloat,” the sheriff's office said. “He told investigators he didn't know if he fell or if he went into the water on purpose. Despite the efforts of the woman and a nearby witness who went into the water to help, Tillman disappeared in the water.
Tillman's coaches and teammates on the Ambassadors Christian Academy wrestling and football teams mourned the loss of their friend, who they described as a talented and respectful young man.
“He was such an honorable, honorable kid,” football coach Eryk Anglin said The Miami Herald about the teen. “He never talked back, he always tried to make the team listen to the coaches. He didn't deserve this.”
Anglin later said WFTS that: “It is very difficult for all of us. The coaches, the players, the school. We will all miss Aaron.”
A GoFundMe started in Tillman's name aims to raise money to help his family with funeral and afterlife costs.