On 1/10/2023 at approximately 1135 hours, I, Game Warden with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, received a call from GSP Cartersville about a Drowning on a watershed lake in Bowdon, Georgia. Cpl. and I notified Sgt. about the incident. He arrived on scene while Cpl. and I picked up our patrol boat. Upon arriving on scene, Sgt. notified us that Victim, a 16-year-old white male, had drowned.  

Victim was kayaking with Subject1 when they decided to swap kayaks. Subject1 stated that Victim turned around and started to mess with the kayak when it flipped. Victim Swam to Subject1’s kayak and pulled down, causing it to flip. Subject1 and Victim started swimming to shore when Victim panicked and grabbed onto Subject1, pulling him under. Subject1 was forced to push Victim away and swam to shore. 

Cpl. and I launched the patrol boat in the water at 1225 hours along with Carroll County Fire Departments’ boat. We located the two kayaks capsized on the far side of the lake and started to look for Victim with side scan sonar. GSP Aviation arrived on scene, patrolled the area by helicopter, and found a pair of boots floating on the East end of the lake.  Search efforts continued until GWFC arrived with the sector scan. Sgt. and GWFC stayed on the bank with the monitor while Cpl., GW, and I were in the boat with the sector scan unit. Using sector scan, we were able to locate Victim at 1920 hours in 8 feet of water. GSP dive team was able to find and recover him at 1930 hours. Carroll County Sheriff’s Department handled the death notification, and the Carroll County Coroner’s office took possession of the body.
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BOWDON                        