A Poplarville man drowned Thursday night in the Pearl River, according to a press release from the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department.

According to the release, Eric E. Miller of 179 Mitchell Chapel Road, drowned while swimming in the Pearl River at a sand bar near Wheatfield Road with his four year old son and a female friend.

Sheriff’s Deputy Aaron Russell said in a telephone interview on Friday that based on witness accounts, the three were swimming and got into trouble. The female and the child made it to shore, but Miller was pulled under water, Russell said.

“We definitely think it was an accident at this point,” Russell said. “There is no evidence showing otherwise.”

The press release said the water in the area reportedly was 15-20 feet deep, with strong currents, according to the witnesses.

The call came in just before 9 p.m. Thursday evening, and first responders from local volunteer fire departments, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks officers, ambulance personnel, and Bogalusa Fire and Rescue responded to the scene, according to the release.

Russell said Miller was located around 3 a.m. Friday morning by Bogalusa Fire and Rescue and pronounced dead at the scene.