A Georgia man lost his life after a boating incident on Lake Eufaula ended in tragedy.
On Sunday morning, law enforcement was notified of a group of distressed duck hunters near the island off of Thomas Mill Creek in Abbeville on Lake Eufaula.
Deputies say the initial call came in that their boat had drifted away from the island and one of the hunters attempted to swim to get the boat. The callers believed the hunter had made it in the boat, but was unresponsive.
A rescue boat was sent out and was able to locate the missing boat but crews say the hunter wasn’t in it. The boat was returned to the stranded hunters on the island and officials say they then began to search the area where the hunter was last seen.
After multiple hours of searching, deputies located what they believed to be the missing hunter in nearly 20 feet of water approximately 100 yards from the bank of the island. A dive unit was called in and they recovered the body.
“This is a very tragic incident, I would like to express my thanks to the timely response by so many agencies to help us this morning,” Henry County Sheriff Eric Blankenship said in a statement.
The missing hunter is a 22-year-old from Griffin, Georgia. His identity has not been released at this time, as officials notify the next of kin.
“However, this isn’t the outcome we were hoping for. Please keep this family and his friends in your thoughts and prayers as they cope with this difficult situation,” Blankenship said.
The incident occurred over the Alabama-Georgia line on Lake Eufaula, so the case has been handed over to the Georga Department of Natural Resources which is now investigating.
Stay with WDHN News as we bring you the latest developments.
Leave a Reply