Local

2 disappear from boat found circling on Lake Oconee

DNR Game Warden Vehicle

GREENE COUNTY, Ga. — Two boaters disappeared on Lake Oconee on Saturday. Officials have recovered one of their bodies, but crews are searching the lake for the other victim.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said its game wardens were told about a boat circling on Lake Oconee near Wallace Dam late Saturday afternoon.

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They found the boat, which no longer had power, and learned from witnesses that a man and woman had been on the boat earlier that day. Neither of them could be found in the area.

Georgia DNR launched its SONAR equipment to begin searching for the victims in Lake Oconee. They recovered the woman’s body around 9:55 a.m. Sunday.

Crews searched for the man until 6 p.m. Sunday and again from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday. So far, they haven’t been able to locate him. Game wardens resumed their search at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

A Georgia DNR spokesman told Channel 2 Action News that he is waiting for the woman to be identified before her name is released.

Westminster, a Christian school in Atlanta, identified the man as faculty member and coach Gary Jones.

“Gary Jones is a beloved Westminster faculty member, coach, and parent. On Sunday, we received word from his family that Gary had gone missing while spending time at an area lake. Our entire community is praying for his safe return and his family during this difficult moment,” a spokesperson for the school wrote in a statement.

According to the school’s website, Jones coaches varsity track and field.

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