ELMORE COUNTY, Ala. — Longtime Auburn University chaplain Chette L. Williams is dead after a drowning, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) reports. The 61-year-old was found in Lake Martin on Sunday evening.
The incident happened around 5:45 p.m. near Kowaliga’s Restaurant, just west of the Kowaliga Bridge in Elmore County. Williams fell into the water while attempting to leave his 2005 Bennington 2575 RFS pontoon boat, according to ALEA Lt. Jeremy Burkett.
Rescue teams recovered Williams around 7:19 p.m., near the location where he entered the water. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and his body has been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy.
Multiple agencies assisted in the search and recovery, including the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office and volunteer fire departments from Kowaliga, Red Hill, and Real Island. ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division is continuing the investigation.
Williams, who played linebacker for Auburn from 1982 to 1984, served as the team chaplain since 1999. During his playing career from 1982 to 1984, Auburn won the Sugar Bowl, the Citrus Bowl, and the Liberty Bowl.
