26-year-old dies trying to retrieve kayak that drifted away on Georgia lake, police say
A 26-year-old man drowned while swimming after a loose kayak on a north Georgia lake, police say.
Officers were called Saturday, July 26, about a possible drowning at Haig Mill Lake Park in Dalton, according to the city’s police department.
Authorities said the man was kayaking with his brother-in-law and took off his life vest near the dock. At some point, he swam into the open water, “possibly trying to retrieve a kayak that had drifted away.”
The man got tired, police said, and started shouting for help. A fisherman across the lake called 911 around 7 p.m., but the man had already gone under by the time first responders arrived.
Officers, with help from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia State Patrol dive team, searched for the man for hours. His body was found sometime after 11 p.m., authorities said.
Police haven’t identified the man, pending notification of next of kin.
Additional information wasn’t immediately available.
Dalton is about a 90-mile drive northwest from downtown Atlanta.