St. Clair County Deputy Coroner Mike Pepple identified the three brothers as Courtney Marbury, 30, and Terry Marbury, 29, both of Leeds, and Richard Marbury, 32, of Odenville.
Pepple said according to family members, the three brothers were in a boat on the lake that some call Whispering Pines. It is located off Moore Road in Odenville.
“I understand that Richard lived on Moore Road,” Pepple said. “I’m not sure which one, but one of the brothers jumped into the water to apparently swim back to shore at the family get-together. At some point, he realized he could not make it, and turned around to go back to the boat. He got into trouble and the other two brothers jumped in to save him.”
When the three brothers did not surface, there was a call to the St. Clair County Central Dispatch at 5:25 p.m.
The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department arrived to assist in the recovery effort and had two divers searching. Also on the scene were the North St. Clair Rescue Squad and the Friendship Fire Department.
Pepple arrived at 7:20 p.m.
“When divers were unable to recover the bodies, the sheriff’s department and rescue squad hooked their two boats together to drag the lake,” Pepple said.
The three brothers were then found.
“Richard’s body was recovered at 7:49 p.m.,” Pepple said. “Terry’s body was recovered at 9:04 p.m. while Courtney’s body was recovered at 9:54 p.m.”
Pepple pronounced all three dead at the time they were recovered.
Contact Gary Hanner at ghanner@thestclairtimes.com.
