Knoxville woman drowns on 46th wedding anniversary trip to Oak Island

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - A Knoxville woman drowned at Oak Island on Tuesday, according to Oak Island Spokesperson Michael Scott Emory.

Emory said crews responded to a call regarding an unresponsive person in the water near the public beach access at 29th Place East. The woman was identified as 67-year-old Toni Watts.

“Rip current warnings were in effect at the time, but the exact cause of her going under the water is unconfirmed,” Emory said. “No drugs or alcohol were involved, and I am currently unaware of any complicating medical condition.”

Watts was on a trip with her husband for their 46th wedding anniversary, according to her daughter Joy Watts Chadwick.

“She passed away in the water, doing what she loved,” Chadwick said. “Though we do not know exactly what happened, we do know, with absolute certainty that she passed from a place where she’d described as being ‘Heaven on earth’ to actual Heaven.”

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