A man who was fishing with his wife on Lake Lanier drowned Wednesday after falling from his boat, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Investigators said they believe that when Matthew Mayo of Gainesville tried to sit in a seat on the bass boat, it became unbolted from the bottom, causing him to fall into the water. Mayo, 73, did not resurface.
Wardens, along with Hall County deputies and firefighters and Gainesville police officers, were called to Lanier Point to search for the man. His body was located using a SONAR device in six feet of water, the DNR said. A remote-operated vessel was then able to recover Mayo’s body.
Over the Memorial Day weekend, two people drowned in Georgia, but neither in Lake Lanier, the DNR previously said.
On Sunday afternoon, a 33-year-old man died from an apparent drowning at Massengale Park beach on Saint Simons Island, the Glynn County fire department said. A lifeguard was alerted to a man in distress and pulled him from the water. He was not conscious and died from his injuries at a Brunswick hospital.
Then on Monday afternoon, a body was found in a private pond in Muscogee County, according to the DNR. Investigators believe the body may have been in the pond for at least two days.
Two boating incidents did take place on Lake Lanier, including a collision between two personal watercrafts Sunday evening. No serious injuries were reported.
The following day, a man fell off his personal watercraft and injured his foot as he was climbing into a boat that picked him up.
About the Author
