Abandoned golf cart and floating shoe lead to 76-year-old dead in lake, Georgia cops say
A 76-year-old man vanished near his dock on Lake Lanier, Georgia cops say. Then, a friend spotted a floating shoe.
At about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, game wardens were alerted to a possible drowning on the lake near Keith Bridge Park in Gainesville, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said in a news release.
Authorities learned the man was hanging out near his dock but hadn’t been seen or heard from since lunchtime.
A friend reported seeing the man’s golf cart abandoned at the dock and a shoe in the water nearby.
Using boat-mounted SONAR, game wardens searched for the missing man and found his body in 13 feet of water a short time later, DNR officials said. Divers went in and pulled his body from the lake.
Authorities identified him as Jim Hansard of Gainesville.
It marks the second drowning at Lake Lanier so far this year, according to Georgia DNR. In May, a fisherman fell into the water and drowned after the seat on his bass boat became unbolted.
Gainesville is about a 60-mile drive northeast from downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Abandoned golf cart and floating shoe lead to 76-year-old dead in lake, Georgia cops say."