Man who died in Chattahoochee identified

By Larry Hartstein and Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources on Tuesday released the identity of the man who died in a boating accident on the Chattahoochee River on Sunday morning.

The body of Ira Braitsch, 64, of Lawrenceville, was found just before noon Monday a quarter mile down river of Suwanee Creek. That was about three miles from the point where he fell from a small aluminum fishing boat that capsized.

The other passenger, Michael Boyle, 67, also of Lawrenceville, was rescued Sunday. He suffered from hypothermia and was recovering Tuesday at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta.

Rescuers had searched unsuccessfully for more than six hours Sunday. The operation then changed from "search and rescue" to "search and recovery."

When the fishing boat struck a log and overturned around 11:40 a.m. south of McGinnis Ferry Road, the men drifted for about 10 minutes before another boater encountered them.

"One man was clinging to the overturned boat and a second man was in the middle of the water across the river," Gwinnett County Fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge said. "The witness stated that he was able to quickly reach the man in the middle of the river and was attempting to reach the second man who was clinging to the overturned boat. Before he could reach him, the boat was sucked under, taking the man with it."

Boyle was conscious and alert but showing signs of hypothermia. He was first taken to Gwinnett Medical Center.

The men in the capsized boat were not wearing life jackets, according to the other boater.

The temperature in the water was in the mid-40s, Rutledge said. At that temperature, he added, "It doesn't take more than just a few minutes to feel the effects of hypothermia."

Authorities initially withheld the the identities of both men.

The search covered an 8- to 10-mile stretch of the river. A Gwinnett County police helicopter flew overhead as rescuers equipped with a sonar device searched between McGinnis Ferry Road and Medlock Bridge Road. They recovered the boat nearly a mile south of McGinnis Ferry Road.

The search involved personnel from Gwinnett and Forsyth counties, the city of Johns Creek and the Georgia DNR.

It was the second incident firefighters responded to on the river Sunday. About 10:15 a.m., Gwinnett's Swiftwater Rescue Team pulled to safety a fisherman who was clinging to a tree branch. He had been fishing in a float tube when he was pulled away by swift, rising waters in the area of Buford Dam.

Rutledge said the sunny weather likely brought out more boaters Sunday. At the same time, the Army Corps of Engineers released water from the Buford Dam to operate the power plant that provides electricity for Lake Lanier.

"Water was generated from the dam early Sunday morning and stopped at about 11:10 a.m.," Rutledge said. "The current quickens and the water rises and it takes several hours for that to recede."