Crime & Safety
Man, 61, Drowns In Lake Lanier In Buford
The man's death happened on the same day a second man went missing in Lake Lanier and two days after a third man drowned in the lake.
BUFORD, GA — A 61-year-old man died Saturday after he jumped from a stranded boat in Lake Lanier and drowned, according to a news release from the Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services.
Authorities identified the man to Channel 2 Action News as Tracey Stewart.
Fire officials responded around 7:30 p.m. to Lake Lanier after 911 callers reported the man jumped into the water with a group to swim and became distressed after asking for a lifejacket to be thrown to him, fire officials said Monday.
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By the time the group in the boat could get a lifejacket, the man was underwater, fire officials said. Bystanders last saw the man as he was about 45 feet deep into the water.
The Gwinnett County Fire's Swiftwater Rescue Team and the Gwinnett County Police's Aviation Unit were able to locate the stranded boat with six people aboard and assisted them to the shore, fire officials said.
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Crews were able to use an Apple watch the man was wearing to pinpoint a search area through a sonar system. The man's body was then found using a submersible remote operated vehicle.
The ROV was submerged for about 45 minutes, and the man's body was found 110 feet deep into the water.
The Hall County Fire Rescue Dive Team's boat took the man to the shore of East Bank Park, and the body was transferred to Gwinnett County medical crews. The crews then pronounced the man dead at the scene.
The man's body was turned over to the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner's Office for further investigation.
The Department of Natural Resources and the Forsyth County Fire Department's Dive Team assisted with search and recovery.
The man's death comes two days after Thomas Milner, 24, died after being shocked by electricity and drowning at Lake Lanier.
Channel 2 News reported Monday Hall County authorities are searching for a 27-year-old man who went missing Saturday at Lake Lanier near Van Pugh Park. According to the outlet, the man went into the water and did not resurface. The search for the man continued early Monday.
The lake goes through Buford, Cumming and Gainesville.
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