The body of an Atlanta man was pulled from Lake Lanier on Saturday in an area where he had been swimming, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
It was the second death reported at the lake during the past week, when soaring temperatures have sent many seeking relief, and the fifth in recent weeks.
Just after 3 p.m. Saturday, DNR wardens, Gwinnett County firefighters and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office were called to Lanier Park, near the Buford Dam, about a report of a drowning.
Edgar Steven Cruz, 23, had been swimming when he went under the water and did not resurface, according to witnesses. Game wardens located Cruz in approximately 10 feet of water and Gwinnett swimmers recovered his body, a DNR spokesman said.
The drowning Saturday came five days after a Gwinnett man died after being pulled from the lake.
On Aug. 21, Brayan Tarasona, 22, went to Van Pugh Park on Gaines Ferry Road to swim, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said. Witnesses said Tarasona swam into deep water and was attempting to get back to the shore when he went under.
Rescue crews from Hall County were called to the area shortly after 6:30 p.m. Tarasona was removed from the water with a remote vehicle and taken to the hospital in critical condition. He died about two hours later.
In late July, 24-year-old Thomas “Shep” Milner jumped into the water from his family’s dock near Little Ridge Park in Forsyth County and was shocked by an electrical current in the water, investigators said.
Two days later, 61-year-old Tracy Stewart of Stone Mountain was pulled from 110 feet of water several hours after he jumped in from a boat near East Bank Park and became distressed. He wasn’t wearing a life jacket, and by the time his group found one for him, he was already underwater, Gwinnett officials said.
Earlier this month, the body of a 27-year-old Buford man who went missing while swimming at Van Pugh Park was found after five days of searching. Leonardo Martinez went underwater and never resurfaced. His body was recovered by game wardens during shore sweeps near the park, according to the DNR. He was found about 30 yards from the shore.
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