NATCHEZ — A morning fishing trip turned tragic for an Adams County man Saturday.

Walter Patterson, 58, of 352 A State Park Road, drowned when the boat he was fishing in with his wife overturned in a pond on State Park Road.

Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield said the emergency call came in at 9:44 a.m., and when deputies arrived on the scene Patterson was unresponsive, on his back, at the edge of the water.

“His wife was with him, and according to her the boat turned over and Mrs. Patterson was able to get to the shore but he went under and she didn’t see him,” Mayfield said. “She was yelling for help but it was a good while, a couple of hours, possibly before the reporting party heard her.”

Mayfield said the reporting party was able to pull Patterson from the water.

Adams County Coroner James Lee said Patterson was pronounced dead at 9:50 a.m. Mayfield said it appears movement in the boat was the cause of the accident.

“I believe they were just moving around in the boat and it capsized,” he said. “It is just a tragic accident.”

Mayfield said the accident should serve as a reminder for proper boating safety in the coming months

“This could happen to anybody at anytime,” he said.

He said it is important to always wear a life jacket and not just have it in the boat.

“Sometimes people take it for granted when they are fishing on a small body of water, but you could capsize or slip and fall and hit your head,” he said.

“You need to have them on, not just sitting by you, but on at all times.