Published: November 29, 2009 10:12 pm      

Two bodies found, one identified

Search and rescue officials in Marion County, Tenn., have recovered and identified the body of another fisherman whose boat capsized on the Tennessee River near Nickajack Dam about a week ago.

The body of Trancito Garcia, 30, was found Sunday around 11:30 a.m. CST by a fisherman in Scottsboro, Ala., about 25 miles downstream from where his boat flipped, said Steve Lamb, director of the Marion County EMA.

Another body was found floating on Sunday at the base of Nickajack Dam by officials with the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency around 3 p.m. CST, Lamb said. He said officials believe it to be the body of missing boater Ilario Zuniga, 64, but the body had not yet been positively identified by family members on Sunday evening.

The body of Angel Ocampo, 49, was found on Friday. Two brothers, Hildebrando Hureta-Hernandez, 14, and Norberto Hureta-Hernandez, 26, were rescued soon after the boat flipped on Nov. 21.

“With the currents of the river and the way it flows,” it is not unusual to find a body several miles downstream from where a boating accident occurs, Lamb said. He said Jackson County, Ala., officials had been aiding in the search since the night of Nov. 21.

“We’ve had a number of rescue squads involved in the search,” Lamb said. “We appreciate everybody’s participation. The families have been excellent to work with.”

Funeral arrangements for Garcia and Zuniga are incomplete and will be announced later by Ponders Funeral Home.

A mass of Christian burial will be today at 11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church for Ocampo.