RedactedNarrative: On January 26th, 2022 I, Cpl. received a call.  Lt. is the supervisor for DNR LED Investigative Unit.  Lt. told me there was a boating incident on Lake Sinclair in Baldwin County, Georgia.  Lt. told me the incident occurred on the night of January 25th, 2022. He told me it was a single vessel incident.  He said one victim was rescued on the night of the 25th, but Victim1's husband was still missing.  Lt. said because the incident involved a boat and a suspected fatality, the incident needed to be investigated by the Critical Incident Reconstruction Team (CIRT).  Lt. told me I was the closest member of CIRT and he needed me to investigate the incident.  I received the call from Lt. at approximately 0930 hours.  I put my CIRT equipment in my truck.  
  
  I arrived at the boat ramp on Lake Sinclair at approximately 1200 hours. Lt. was at the hospital interviewing Victim1.  Victim1 had severe hypothermia when she was rescued the night before. She was recovering in the hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia. The above address is the location of the boat ramp where Victim1 and Victim2 launched their boat on January 25th. I met Sergeant and Game Warden at the boat ramp.  Sgt. is the supervisor for the work section where the incident occurred.  GW is a new member of CIRT and was there to help me process the boat.  Sgt. briefed GW and I about the incident.  Sgt. said Victim1 called Baldwin County 911 at approximately 2000 hours on January 25th.  Victim1 told the 911 operator that her and Victim2 were fishing near Bass Road and the dam. Victim1 said their boat was filling up with water.  Sgt. said the Baldwin County Fire Department located a boat not far from the boat ramp.  The fire department found Victim1 in the area close to where the boat was located.  Sgt. said Victim1 was suffering from severe hypothermia when she was rescued and transported to the hospital.  Sgt.  said a second life jacket was found near the area where the boat and Victim1 were located, but Victim2 was still missing. Sgt. said the area was being searched with our department's side scan sonar for Victim2's body.
  
  Cpl returned from the incident location with the patrol boat.  Cpl. took GW and I to the location where the search and recovery was taking place. The search area and the victim's boat was located in Ferry's Branch not far from the Baldwin County Regional Airport.  The boat was a 17' Bass Tracker aluminum boat.  I took photographs of the boat as Cpl. approached the boat from the stern of the Bass Tracker.  I continued taking photographs of the boat and the contents within the boat as Cpl. drove around the boat from the starboard stern towards the bow of the Bass Tracker.  Cpl. continued around the vessel onto the port side bow area and ended on the port side stern of the Bass Tracker.  I photographed the Bass Tracker and the contents within it as we made our way around the boat.  The boat was anchored off the bow. The foot controlled trolling motor was deployed in the water from the bow as well. There were two green fishing lights still turned on and attached to fishing rod holders on the portside of the boat.  The boat was full of water, but it was still floating. The Bass Tracker was approximately 200 yards or so from the nearest shoreline.  The boat was anchored in approximately 50 foot of water.  We secured most of the items from the Bass Tracker in our patrol boat and towed it back to the boat ramp.
  
  We put the Bass Tracker on the boat trailer and pulled the boat out of the water.  The plug was in the boat, but water started draining out of the boat from screws in the transom.  There were several loose screws and unsealed holes.  
  
  The boat was rated for 4 persons or 575 pounds.  The overall rating of the motor, persons and gear was 1030 pounds.
  
  There were additional signs of improper maintenance given wire ties around the shift linkage.  These were not likely a factor in the incident.
  
  According to the survivor, they started fishing round 1400.  They had motor problems before departure but were able to get underway with the help of someone at the ramp.  They anchored at the bow and stern and fished.  Around 2000, they noticed the boat taking on water.  Subject pulled the stern anchor but they couldn’t get the outboard or trolling motor to work so subject2 called 911.  Subject1 was unable to get a PFD on.  Subject2 fell out of the boat.  Subject1 held onto her until a wave hit.