KENTUCKY (LEX NEWS) — Friends and family are remembering a Lexington man who drowned at Lake Cumberland on Aug. 22, as those who loved him urge others to wear life jackets near the water.
Andy Schmidt, 42, was swimming near Lake Cumberland Marina when witnesses say he went underwater and never came back up. The Russell County Coroner pronounced him dead at the scene on Aug. 23.
Schmidt lived and worked at the Bob Brown House, a Lexington group home, for nearly four years.
Sadie Dooley, who knew Schmidt through the Bob Brown House, described him as more than a colleague.
"He was an employee and he was a resident here, but he was more than that. He was a really good friend to all of us," Dooley said.
Schmidt was known as "Little Andy" and was best friends with "Big Andy" Edmondson and his wife Tiffany since Schmidt was 14 years old.
"I don't even really remember a time without him," Tiffany Edmondson said.
Schmidt was also a father. He had a son who just started college and twins who just started high school.
"The most important thing to him, period, was his kids. But after his kids, it was anybody that needed a hand," Andy Edmondson said.
Visiting Lake Cumberland was a tradition the group of friends had kept for years. On Aug. 22, Schmidt was swimming with Dooley's 3 children when they began calling for help.
"We could see him kind of thrashing around in the water and his head bobbing in and out," Dooley said.
Schmidt was not wearing a life jacket, unlike the children. Dooley said by the time rescuers reached him, he had been underwater for more than 5 minutes.
Now, those who loved Schmidt are urging everyone to wear a life jacket near the water.
"You've got to make sure that you're safe at that lake. Any water… anything could happen," Tiffany Edmondson said.
"Do it in Andy's name. Somebody that cared for everybody," Andy Edmondson said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Schmidt's three children.
