A 16-year-old boy from southwest Georgia drowned Monday afternoon in a Henry County lake.
He was identified as Benny Davis, of Albany, late Monday.
Divers were called to Lake Dow in McDonough after a report that a teenage boy jumped from a dock into the water and did not resurface, according to Capt. Sabrina Puckett with the Henry County fire department.
Firefighters arrived at the private lake within minutes of the emergency call, and minutes after that, the first diver was under water, Puckett said. Within an hour, a second diver located the teen’s body in 15 feet of water, about 27 feet from the dock. Benny’s body was transported to Piedmont Henry Hospital.
Benny was in town visiting friends, Puckett said. His parents were notified of the drowning and were driving to the scene late Monday, she said.
The drowning happened near Pilgreen’s Steakhouse on Lake Dow Road, where signs are posted prohibiting swimming.
“It’s supposed to be for fishing only,” Puckett said about the dock. “No jumping, no diving at any time.”
It was not known if the teen dove or jumped into the water, or if he knew how to swim.
— Photographer Ben Gray contributed to this report.
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