On 04/22/2023 I, Cpl., responded to a possible drowning call on the Coosa River at the Old River boat ramp at 1200 hours.  I arrived on scene around 1210 hours and discovered that two men had made it out of the river and were alive.  Both men were in the back of ambulances when I arrived being evaluated.  One individual, Victim, was unaccounted for at the time.  The owner and operator of the vessel, told me they were going up the river in his vessel, a 1980 Astroglass bass boat, when the motor stopped and it suddenly began taking on water. 

They had made it up river from the boat ramp approximately 300 yards when the incident occurred. Victim was able to get out of the river.  Operator was assisted out of the river by a passing by boater, who told me he heard someone yelling help and was able to assist Operator with getting out of the river. Both men exited the river on the north side of the river approximately 125 yards from the boat ramp.  Operator told me they had life-jackets aboard the vessel but did not have them on.  I found one life-jacket tangled in some brush near the rescue site.

 Rome Fire and Rescue quickly launched a vessel and immediately began doing shoreline sweeps and running sonar.  DNR Game Wardens launched two vessels and ran sonar and conducted shoreline sweeps looking for Victim.  GSP Aviation was called to the scene and searched the river and the forest around the river as well.  Floyd County Sheriff's Office utilized their drone to search the area.  The following Game Wardens came to the scene and assisted with the search on this date.  Floyd County Police had multiple officers on scene.  Floyd County Emergency Management Agency sent several employees to assist with the search and several civilian boats were on the river volunteering to look for the victim.  

The capsized vessel was pulled out of the river by Loyd's Wrecker Service of Rome.  The boat had floated approximately 250 yards down river past the boat ramp and had became hung up in a tree on the north side of the river.  

They pulled the boat out of the river, loaded it onto their rollback and took the boat to the house for Operator, free of charge. Cpl. began his investigation about what made the vessel sink and capsize.  He determined that the transom, or back of the boat where the motor was mounted, had rotten wood.  When the men drove the boat up the river, the back of the boat was so brittle that it was not strong enough, causing the motor and the back of the boat to break off and separate from the boat.  This is what caused the boat to fill-up with water so fast.  The wood was black from rotting and would crumble when touched.  The motor was not attached to the vessel when it was recovered from the river.

The search for Victim concluded at 2030 hours on this day.  Game Wardens will be back on scene in the morning at 0730 to continue their search.  The family was briefed on the search plans for the next day.

On 04/23/2023 at approximately 1800 hours a possible image of Victim was observed with the Sector Scan.  The image was discovered approximately 125 yards upriver from the boat ramp, approximately 80 feet from the

Coosa River
ROME                          