A young man apparently drowned in a pond near Old River Road early Thursday afternoon.

Divers from the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department were called in by Effingham County sheriff’s deputies after they got a call around 1:15 p.m. of a possible drowning in a pond behind a house on Pecan Grove Road.

The pond, a former borrow pit, is thought to be from 60 to 70 feet deep, according to Effingham Chief Deputy Richard Bush.

“It’s pretty deep,” he said.

Sheriff’s deputies and Effingham Fire and Rescue units responded and called the SCMPD for assistance. The dive team got to the pond around 3 p.m.

The man, identified as 21-year-old Ronson Clifford Knight of Bloomingdale, was one of three people swimming in the pond. ECSO Detective David Ehsanipoor said two witnesses indicated the victim was attempting to swim across the pond.

“He went down and didn’t come back up,” Bush said.

The dive team found the body around 3:45 p.m. His body was taken to the GBI crime lab for autopsy.