Paddleboarder, 55, drowns in Lake Lanier
The body of a 55-year-old man who had been paddleboarding on Lake Lanier was recovered Friday afternoon, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Jeffrey McElfresh, of Louisville, Kentucky, was on a paddleboard without a life jacket when he went under shortly after 4:30 p.m. at West Bank Park in Forsyth County, a DNR spokesman said.
“He had a pool noodle with him and the pool noodle began to float away,” Mark McKinnon, a DNR spokesman, said in an emailed statement. “He attempted to retrieve it, became tired, and went under. He reappeared shortly after, went under a second time, and never resurfaced.”
Hall County divers recovered McElfresh’s body a short time later, McKinnon said.
A portion of Buford Dam Road was temporarily closed during the investigation, but it reopened shortly before 6 p.m., according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.
The latest search comes two days after the body of a 24-year-old was recovered from the lake. The body of Dorian Pinson, a college basketball player who had been missing since April, was found Wednesday in 117 feet of water, the DNR said.
