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5-year-old boy found dead after vanishing from float on Georgia lake, officials say

A 5-year-old was found dead in a Georgia lake after vanishing from the float he was playing on, officials said.
A 5-year-old was found dead in a Georgia lake after vanishing from the float he was playing on, officials said. Screen grab/Google maps

A 5-year-old boy was found dead in a Georgia lake after vanishing from a float he was playing on, officials said.

Game wardens with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources responded to Allatoona Lake for reports of a drowning in Clear Creek just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 28, the department told McClatchy News in a statement.

Witnesses told game wardens that the boy was playing on a float in the water and “a few minutes later he was missing from the float,” the DNR said. Officials did not say what led up to his disappearance.

Crews found the boy’s body using “side scan sonar” in about 6 feet of water, according to the department.

Divers recovered his body at 4:35 p.m., the DNR said.

His name has not been released, and no additional information was available as of Sunday, May 29.

Allatoona Lake is “one of the most frequently visited U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes in the nation,” with 6 million annual visitors, according to Recreation.gov. It’s located about 30 miles northwest of Atlanta.

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This story was originally published May 29, 2022 at 11:22 AM with the headline "5-year-old boy found dead after vanishing from float on Georgia lake, officials say."

Bailey Aldridge
The News & Observer
Bailey Aldridge is a reporter covering real-time news in North and South Carolina. She has a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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