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CORNELIUS, NC — WCCB News has learned more details about a man who drowned in Lake Norman Sunday evening.
The aunt he lived with, Ruth Johnson, flipped through photos a day later showing Ryan Billingslea cooking and enjoying life.
“I’m still thinking this is not real,” said Johnson. “This is a bad dream, a bad dream.”
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Hours earlier she and her sisters watched divers search for his body.
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911 calls for help came in Sunday night. Billingslea had jumped in the water to save a drowning friend. His friend got out, but Billingslea never resurfaced.
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His family tells WCCB News he was always on the lake in his boat. He loved to fish, and he was a strong swimmer.
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“We were just talking about that on the way over here,” added Johnson.Β
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She and her sister, Amy Johnson, explained that Billingslea had talked to them about the dangers of going after someone struggling in the water.
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“He’s like, ‘I’m not going to jump in the lake after somebody,'” said Ruth Johnson. “I guess when you see someone out there you know, struggling, it’s a different story because you want to help them.”
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The man who Billingslea jumped in after didn’t want to talk on camera, but he said Billingslea saved his life.
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Β “This is the kind of person he is,” said Amy Johnson. “He lost his life trying to help someone else.”
Now, his aunts don’t just see their nephew. They see a hero.
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Investigators are sending out a warning in cases like this. If someone is drowning, throw them a life jacket or life preserver.Β
