SASSAFRAS – The search for a Knott County man who drowned at Carr Creek Lake on Thursday ended Friday afternoon with crews from several agencies included in the effort.
The body of 20-year-old Terry Combs, Jr., of Carrie, was recovered around noon and he was officially identified as being the man presumed to have drowned while swimming in the dam area of the lake, according to Shane Amburgey with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Emergency responders were called to the lake’s dam near the Sassafras community at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Thursday following a report that a man had possibly drowned while swimming at the lake.
Authorities notified Combs’s family members and spent the evening searching in waters at a depth of 60 feet, according to Mark Marraccini, also with Fish and Wildlife. Crews immediately began the search near the dam and continued into the night, finally calling it off at midnight before resuming at 8 a.m. Friday morning.
According to Marraccini, it appeared that Combs may have succumbed to exhaustion while swimming.
“He and his girlfriend tried to swim across the lake, and got tired, and she made it back but he went under,” he said.
Agencies that have responded include the Floyd County Rescue Squad, the Knott County rescue team, Pike County rescue and the Neon Fire Department dive team.












