Coroner's office identifies body recovered from Berkeley Co. canal

The coroner's office has identified a body that was recovered from a canal in Berkeley County Friday afternoon.

Berkeley County Coroner Bill Salisbury said the body of 21-year-old Mathew Gourdine of St. Stephen was recovered at 4:20 p.m. by rescue crews at the Tailrace Canal under the Highway 52 bridge in Moncks Corner. Gourdine's death has been ruled as an accidental drowning.

Salisbury said around 3:18 p.m, 911 dispatchers received a call that a person had jumped off the Tailrace Canal and did not surface.

Berkeley County Rescue Squad, SC DNR, the sheriff's office and several local fire departments responded to the incident.

At 4:20 p.m., the rescue squad recovered Gourdine's body.

The death was investigated by the coroner's office and the SC Department of Natural Resources.

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