Corps Reminds Lake Visitors to Wear Life Jackets After Recent Drownings

Two people have drowned so far this year on Lake Hartwell and two on Lake Lanier.

The latest drowning happened Wednesday on Lake Lanier when a 76-year-old Gainesville man drowned near Keith Bridge Park.

According to DNR Spokesman Mark McKinnon, early information stated that an adult male was last seen around lunch time at his dock and had not been seen since.

A friend of the subject saw the man’s golf cart still at the dock and noticed a water shoe floating nearby as well.

A short time later, game wardens utilized boat-mounted sonar to locate the victim in 13 feet of water and Forsyth County divers recovered the body.

Two weeks ago, two teenagers drowned in Lake Hartwell on the South Carolina side after jumping off a bridge.

That’s why DNR and Corps of Engineer Rangers remind visitors to Hartwell Lake to wear a life jacket.

Annette Dotson is a Park Ranger with the Corps of Engineers Hartwell Lake Project office.

She says the Corps of Engineers wants everyone to be safe on the water and you can do that by wearing a life jacket.

In Georgia, all boat owners must have a life jacket on board for everyone on their boat and children under age 13 must wear a life jacket at all times when on a boat.

It’s also a good idea to wear a life jacket when swimming in Lake Hartwell because of the unexpected drop-offs underwater.

If you need a life jacket or don’t have enough for your boat, the Georgia DNR has a free life jacket lending station at the Tugaloo Mega Ramp.

Additionally, many of the Corps and DNR campgrounds lend life jackets at the campground office.