scout leader drowns on camping trip – The Virginian

A Scout leader who was a lifelong resident of the Portsmouth area drowned Saturday while on a camping trip in Mecklenburg County.

Bobby Bracy, 70, appeared to lose his footing while walking across a sandbar in Buggs Island Lake to join members of Cradock Troop 233, according to his daughter-in-law, Teena Anderson. The troop had been working on swimming merit badges earlier that day.

The boys searched for him until the troop leaders insisted they stop out of fear of another tragedy, Anderson said. Bracy’s body was found two hours later.

“Those kids did not want to give up,” Anderson said.

Bracy, a retired police officer with the Virginia Port Authority, had been a scout leader since he was 21. He went on camping trips at least once a month and was an ardent believer in the value of survival skills, according to Anderson.

He was also a proficient swimmer, Anderson said. The family suspects a medical emergency caused him to go underwater, she said.

Anderson said her father-in-law had recently received a clean bill of health from a cardiologist and had not complained of any medical concerns.

“But even if he had, he still would have gone camping.”

The funeral is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Cradock Baptist Church.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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