Authorities identify 18-year-old Hickory woman who drowned in Catawba County lake

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - Authorities have identified the 18-year-old woman who drowned on Tuesday evening after jumping into a Catawba County lake for a swim.

The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office says the female, identified as Zimera Smith, of Hickory, was swimming with a friend in Lake Lookout around 7 p.m. when she jumped into the water from the end of a boat ramp.

After her friend called for help, authorities responded and began a search of the water. They found her body eight feet deep in the lake.

Authorities said Smith attended Hickory High School and they coordinated with the high school on the release of the information.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Zimera Smith,” a news release from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office stated.

It is the second drowning death on area bodies of water over the past few days.

Last Saturday, a search began for a man who jumped off the back of a pontoon boat on Lake Norman but did not resurface.

The body of the man, identified as 32-year-old Kadeem McGrier, of South Carolina, was recovered Sunday afternoon.

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