William R. “Bill” North was serving as a race spotter when he fell into Logan Martin Lake.
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ala. — A longtime Alabama prosecutor was found dead Monday after he fell into Logan Martin Lake while helping with a sailboat race, state authorities said.
William R. “Bill” North, 64, of Bessemer, was an assistant district attorney in Jefferson County’s Bessemer Cutoff. His death ended an overnight search that began Sunday afternoon after he went into the water during a Pell City Sail Club race. The case drew attention across Alabama’s legal community, where North had spent nearly three decades as a prosecutor.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said North was serving as a spotter for the race when the accident happened about 3 p.m. Sunday on the southern portion of Logan Martin Lake. Officials said North was trying to move from a sailboat to an unoccupied jon boat when he fell into the lake and did not resurface. “We’re in disbelief,” Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff District Attorney Lynneice Washington said as colleagues mourned his sudden death.
Search crews from several agencies worked through Sunday evening and into Monday. ALEA said North’s body was recovered at about 11:12 a.m. Monday near the same area where he entered the water. The agency’s Marine Patrol Division handled the investigation. Officials have described the incident as a boating accident. Authorities had not reported signs of foul play, and no other injuries were publicly announced.
North was widely known in the Bessemer courthouse and had handled criminal cases for years in the Bessemer Cutoff, a division of Jefferson County’s court system that serves western parts of the county. Colleagues described him as a steady courtroom presence and a career prosecutor who worked closely with law enforcement, victims and court staff. His death left the district attorney’s office facing both a personal loss and the practical task of continuing casework after the sudden absence of a senior attorney.
The investigation remained with ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division, which reviews boating incidents on Alabama waterways. Officials are expected to document the sequence of events, the vessels involved and witness accounts from the race. No hearing or public briefing had been announced by early Wednesday. Any final report would likely address the cause and manner of death, along with conditions on the lake at the time of the fall.
Logan Martin Lake is a large reservoir on the Coosa River and a popular site for boating, fishing and sailing in central Alabama. The accident happened during an organized race, when spotters help monitor the course and activity on the water. Witnesses told authorities North fell while moving between vessels. The exact reason he fell had not been released.
North’s death prompted condolences from people who knew him through the courts and the local legal system. Washington said the office was grieving the loss of a colleague who had served the public for many years. Others remembered him as a familiar figure in Bessemer’s criminal courts, where prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and deputies often work together for decades.
As of Wednesday, the official finding remained a fatal boating accident on Logan Martin Lake. ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division continued its review, and funeral arrangements had not been included in the agency’s public updates.
Author note: Last updated July 1, 2026.