The body of the missing Madison man was found early Saturday, afternoon March 8, about 200 yards upstream from the Dorothy Land Boat Landing in Lafayette County.

Berton L. Blanton, 22, was missing after his boat capsized near the Dowling Park Boat Ramp in Suwannee County Feb. 28, according to Lafayette County Sheriff Carson McCall. The recovery site was approximately 40 miles downstream from where the boat overturned eight days earlier.



McCall said the Sheriff’s Office received a call about noon stating that two Branford residents, James Mixon and Leroy Meads had found Blanton while boating in the river.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were notified. Officers Dennis Sharpe and Darby Butler arrived on the scene to help in the recovery. The sheriff and other officers from Lafayette County were on the scene as well.



McCall said the body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Jacksonville

Blanton was operating a gheenoe on the Suwannee River, according to Lt. Donald Buchanan, FWC, when he stood up in the back of the boat, releasing his hold on the trolling motor. The action caused the boat to turn, causing Blanton and his passenger, James Pridgeon, 18, also of Madison, to fall out of the boat.



Both Blanton and Pridgeon attempted to swim but the current was too strong, according to Buchanan. Pridgeon made it to the Suwannee County shoreline but Blanton did not.

Sheriff McCall said he appreciates the heroic efforts of the Lafayette, Madison, Taylor, Suwannee and Duval Sheriff’s Departments and the FWC that worked tirelessly during this tragic accident.