Man drowns in Lake Monroe

A 36-year-old Indianapolis-area man drowned while swimming in Lake Monroe early Monday afternoon.\nDavid N. Carter, of Speedway, had been on an outing with three co-workers, who rented a pontoon boat for the day, Indiana Conservation Officer Angela Goldman said. After roughly an hour of boating, they docked at the bank of Mary's Cove, just southwest of the Fairfax Beach.\nCarter decided to go for a swim while his companions -- whose names police won't disclose -- were picnicking, Goldman said. They soon noticed that he was floating face down about 20 feet off the shore. They tossed out a safety ring, but police said Carter did not respond.\nSo one of the two female co-workers accompanying him dived into the water and attempted to bring Carter back toward the boat. She managed to get ahold of him but was dragged underwater. \nWith the help of her life jacket, she struggled back to the surface. But Carter wasn't seen again until divers pulled his body out of 55 feet of water at about 4:45 p.m. Monroe County Coroner Dave Toumey pronounced Carter dead at 5:04 p.m.\nPolice do not know why Carter drowned but do not suspect foul play at this point.\nCarter's co-workers told police that he had not been drinking, which Toumey's autopsy confirmed. Members of Carter's family told Toumey that he wasn't a good swimmer.\nThat's all police have at this point -- Carter hadn't been wearing a life jacket, Goldman said. The area, while popular with swimmers during the summer, wasn't crowded at the time, and weather conditions were not adverse.\nCarter had been swimming in one of the deepest area of the lake, a gravel pit before the lake was filled decades ago.