Lawrenceville Father Dies Trying To Help Son In Lake Hartwell

HARTWELL, GA — The body of a Lawrenceville father was recovered Saturday after authorities said he died while trying to help his son with a life jacket in Lake Hartwell Friday.

Georgia game wardens responded Friday to a drowning at the Paynes Creek Boat Ramp on Lake Hartwell, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resource's Law Enforcement Division.

Authorities said Contstantin Pascal, 45, was pulling his son on a tube and noticed his son's life jacket had come unfastened.

"He immediately put the boat in neutral and jumped into the water from the vessel to assist the child, but the man did not resurface after entering the water," DNR authorities said in a statement.

A passerby rescued the child and took him to a boat ramp, the DNR said.

A search and rescue for Pascal was conducted by game wardens, the Hart County Fire Department, the Hart County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson County, S.C., Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and the Elbert County Fire Dive Team. Divers conducted vessel searches with SONAR and surface searches, the DNR said.

The Elbert County Fire Dive Team recovered Pascal's body at 6:40 p.m. Saturday from 43 feet of water, the DNR said.

The department did not release the condition of the child.