Fisherman's Body Recovered After Drowning at Falls Lake Saturday

A man drowned at Falls Lake near the Cheek Road bridge Saturday after his casting net caught on something and pulled him under, prompting a three-hour search that ended when Wake County deputies recovered his body about 50 yards from the dock in roughly four feet of water.

Deputies received a report of a possible drowning involving an adult male around 1:20 p.m. The Wake County Sheriff's Office confirmed the recovery hours later and said the man's identity would be released after his family was notified.

The victim's brother identified him to Eyewitness News as 30-year-old Pablo Reyes Perdomo, saying the two had been fishing near the shore when their net got caught and he fell in. WRAL, citing deputies at the scene, reported the victim as 29-year-old Pablo Reyes-Perdomo; the age discrepancy between the two accounts had not been resolved as of Saturday evening. Firefighters on scene told WRAL that Reyes-Perdomo had been throwing out a casting net when bystanders watched him fall into the water and go under.

His brothers told WRAL he loved fishing at that spot and came there often. The family gathered at the same location Saturday to honor his life. "We woud have never imagined this," they said. His wife and a young daughter remain in Honduras, according to his brother.

The Wake County Sheriff's Office said its investigation is ongoing, with assistance from the Durham County Sheriff's Office and the Northern Wake Fire Department. Saturday's drowning was the first such call WCSO responded to at Falls Lake in 2026.

Falls Lake saw a second, unrelated incident the same afternoon. Around 2 p.m., a boat on the Six Forks Road side of the lake experienced a mechanical failure and began circling. A man was pulled from the vessel before it sank, firefighters said.