Coroner identifies NC brothers who drowned in Intracoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach

The Horry County Coroner’s Office has identified two brothers as drowning victims after dive teams recovered their bodies from the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach.

The bodies of brothers Ahykeem Jones, 28, and Johnnie Magbie, 19, were recovered from the water about six hours apart, according to officials. Jones was visiting North Myrtle Beach from Henderson, N.C., and Magbie was visiting from Supply, N.C.

The official cause of death for both men is asphyxiation due to drowning, said Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard.

Dive teams were deployed to the area Sunday near Pelican Bay landing in North Myrtle Beach after the brothers went into the water and didn’t resurface. Jones fell into the water from a boat and Magbie jumped in after him, Willard said. The brothers were last seen about 7:20 p.m. Sunday, she said.

Magbie’s body was found by dive teams about 11 a.m. Monday. Jones’ body was recovered about 5 p.m. Monday, Willard said.

Jones’ and Magbie’s drownings are the second and third deaths in the Intracoastal Waterway in Horry County in the past month. Last month, 28-year-old Corey Parag, of Myrtle Beach, died from blunt force trauma sustained in a boat crash in the Intracoastal Waterway in Socastee.