The swimmer was reported missing around 11 a.m. His body was recovered around 2:30 p.m.
Chapel Hill authorities identified the swimmer as 85-year-old Konrad Jarausch. Jarausch was a professor emeritus of history at UNC-Chapel Hill, the university told ABC11.
A neighbor told ABC11 that Jarausch's wife came to his door on Tuesday morning asking for help.
"I was in my house, and the doorbell rang. A nice woman came to the door and said, 'I was swimming with my husband, I've lost track of him," the neighbor said. "I've lost sight of him. Can you help me find him? And we walked over to the park, and it was clear that something ... so we called 911, and the people got here real quickly, and meanwhile, I actually went in the water around those buoys down there and just started kind of feeling around with my feet."
Authorities have not yet released further details.
- ABC11's Elaina Athans contributed.
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