A rescue attempt in a west Georgia lake ended in tragedy Saturday when a woman was found unresponsive and her 13-year-old granddaughter could not be saved.
The body of 13-year-old Makayla Prather was later found by dive teams in Troup County’s West Point Lake, more than five hours after the drowning was reported. Her grandmother, 49-year-old Stephanie Walker of LaGrange, remains in critical condition at a hospital.
According to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, deputies and fire rescue crews were sent to the lake near the 400 block of Lower Glass Bridge Road shortly before 2 p.m. When they arrived, Walker was not breathing and they immediately began CPR.
The 911 caller said he had been with the teenager and her grandmother minutes earlier but did not see them enter the water.
“After speaking with our caller on Saturday, we believe one of the victims entered the water from the shoreline, became distressed, and the second victim entered the water in an attempt to help them and became distressed themselves,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Stewart Smith said in an email.
The caller found the woman in the water but did not see the girl, Smith said.
It took a boat crew from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and a dive team from Columbus Fire and Rescue to search the lake for the 13-year-old. Her body was recovered by the dive teams about 7:30 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.
The agency said the drowning “appears to be a tragic accident.”
Walker was being treated Monday at Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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