On Sunday, May 14th, 2023, around 11:27 PM, I, Corporal (Cpl) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resource Law Enforcement Division (GA DNR LED) Critical Incident Reconstruction Team (CIRT), received a call from Sergeant (Sgt), CIRT Supervisor. Sgt. informed me of a boating incident at Jackson Lake that resulted in at least one person missing and presumed to have drowned. Sgt.s were on scene and screening the vessel operator for boating under the influence. 

I contacted Sgt. 2 and let him know I would be there around 7:00 AM. I asked that they turn off everything on the vessel and keep it turned off to preserve evidence. Sgt2 later contacted me and asked if they could turn the GPS back on to check the coordinates of where the incident occurred to know where to start looking for the missing subject. I advised him exigent circumstances existed and it was okay to turn on the GPS briefly to find out the location to search for Victim and then turn it back off. I asked Sgt2 to seize Operator’s cell phone and place it in airplane mode. It was discovered that Operator was a Sergeant with the Butts County Sheriff's Office (BCSO).

GW was notified around 9:57 PM about a possible boat incident and a boat spinning out of control at Jackson Lake. It was unknown if there was an operator onboard or not, but someone could be heard yelling for help. Jasper County and Butts County Deputies were enroute to the scene.

Both of the JCSO deputies’ body worn cameras captured the unoccupied Tidewater vessel traveling in circles at a high rate of speed. 

Lake Jackson
MONTICELLO                    