By Times Staff Writer
Published September 10, 2004
THONOTOSASSA - Members of the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office dive team Thursday recovered the body of 22-year-old Eric Downey, who drowned Tuesday in the Tampa Bay Bypass Canal near the dam's floodgates, off Harney Road and U.S. 301 in east Hillsborough County.
Downey, of Thonotosassa, had gone to the popular swimming hole with his girlfriend and her two children to cool off, but he got caught in the canal's current. Divers weren't able to go into the canal until Thursday because the dangerous current that pulled Downey under still ran through the dam gates, which were open after the weekend rains from Frances.
On Wednesday, deputies passed over the area in a helicopter, hoping to find Downey's body. Thursday morning, the current calmed enough for divers to search parts of the canal, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. Downey's body was found about 11:30 a.m.
