A grandfather and grandson both drowned in a pond off Basin Creek Road about 10 miles outside of Tellico Plains Tuesday afternoon.

Josh Ownby, 15, and his cousin were swimming in the man made pond just before 2:30 p.m. when Ownby began to have trouble staying above the waterline.

The cousin, who was not identified, told Monroe County Sheriff's Sgt. John Acuff he thought Josh was playing around at first, but soon realized he was having trouble. The cousin swam over to Owenby and tried to keep him from going under, telling him to float, but Ownby went under and didn't come back up.

Ownby's grandfather, Wayne Gay, was on the dock and jumped in when he saw what was happening. Acuff said something happened with Gay also, but no one was sure what. The cousin ran to Owenby's mother, who was in a nearby house, and a call was made to 911.

Gay was pulled out of the water and taken to Sweetwater Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Trent Prock and Shane Harrold, members of the sheriff's dive team, and Daniel Boothroyd of the Vonore Fire Department searched the water for Ownby for nearly an hour and a half before Boothroyd found him near the dock around 4:25 p.m.

Acuff said Ownby was from Cleveland while Gay, 67, lived on Basin Creek Road.

Detective Mike Morgan said there was nothing suspicious about the deaths.

"It's hard to tell exactly what happened," Morgan said. "We don't know if they got tangled up in something or just started panicking. Once somebody panics in the water, you can have a hard time helping them.

"It was just a terrible accident," Morgan added. "A couple of kids and their grandfather were out having fun on a summer day and it ended up like this."

Members of the Monroe County Rescue Squad and Conasauga Volunteer Fire Department also assisted in the search.

michael.thomason@advocateanddemocrat.com | 442-4575