The body of a 23-year-old college student who went missing while swimming in the Chattahoochee River was pulled from the water Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
Christian Maloney went missing Tuesday while swimming with friends to a popular diving rock near Akers Mill Road on the Cobb County side of the river, said Miranda Cook, acting chief ranger of law enforcement and emergency services for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
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Crews located Maloney’s body about 2:15 p.m. not far from where he was last seen.
Cook said that drowning deaths are fairly common in that part of the Chattahoochee because swimmers often overestimate their abilities to make it across the river to the rocks.
“A lot of times, people are simply unable to make that swim,” she said.
Authorities said the University of West Georgia student made it about three-quarters of the way across the river before going under.
Other factors that contribute to drownings include the current and the water temperature, Cook said, which can be about 30 degrees cooler than the air temperature this time of year.
“If you don’t bring a life jacket with you, there are some provided there,” she said. “Use them because that’s going to save you. If you get in trouble, you’ve got something to hold you up.”
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