DREXEL, N.C., July 20 (UPI) -- Police in Burke County, N.C., say District Court Judge John Mull drowned in the Catawba River while rescuing his teenage son.
Sheriff John McDevitt said Mull jumped into the river Sunday after his 17-year-old son, whose identity was not reported, began experiencing cramps while swimming, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Monday.
"They weren't but 100 yards from the house," McDevitt said. "He got his son back to shore, and then the family turned around and the judge was gone."
Mull's son and a friend found the judge underwater after nearly 45 seconds, but rescuers were unable to revive the Burke County official. Authorities are awaiting the results of an autopsy to confirm Mull died of drowning and not a heart attack.
McDevitt said since becoming a judge in 1988, Mull had presided over cases for Burke County, as well as Caldwell and Catawba counties.
"He was a good man," McDevitt told the Observer. "He tried to help people. He was accessible, very personable. Everybody liked him."
