Cary man dies after drowning in Macgregor Downs Lake

Cary police said a man drowned Saturday afternoon in Macgregor Downs Lake after officers were called to a person-in-the-water report around 2 p.m. near Saint Andrews Lane, close to the U.S. 1 and U.S. 64 interchange.

Officers initially found one adult male in the lake. Crews later recovered him from the water, and police said he died during the incident. The Cary Police Department said the investigation remained ongoing and released no additional information about the man’s identity, age or what led him into the lake.

The death drew attention because Macgregor Downs Lake is not a remote stretch of water. It sits in the Macgregor Downs neighborhood, ringed by homes and linked to the MacGregor Downs Country Club, which says it is on the shores of Lake MacGregor and was established in 1967. A Town of Cary notice says the Glasgow Road Bridge crosses the spillway at MacGregor Lake, underscoring how closely the waterway is tied to the surrounding road network and residential area.

The setting also reflects how the town uses and manages local water features. The Town of Cary says it maintains a number of lakes and dams for flood protection, water quality improvement, recreation, wildlife habitat and aesthetics. Cary also has more than 80 miles of greenway, putting water and trail access close to neighborhoods throughout the community.

Drowning is often silent and can happen in seconds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says the annual age-adjusted unintentional drowning death rate in the United States was 1.31 deaths per 100,000 people during 2018 to 2021, and notes that open-water drowning is a significant concern for adults. In a place as visible as Macgregor Downs Lake, that risk is now tied to a familiar corner of Cary rather than a distant recreation site.