Four people drowned in state waters over the Labor Day weekend, up from one drowning over the same weekend a year ago, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Thirty-seven people have drowned this year.
Rangers also responded to nine boating incidents and arrested 17 people for boating under the influence, the DNR said.
“We were hoping for a less-eventful weekend on the state’s waterways,” said Lt. Col. Jeff Weaver, assistant director of DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. “We had rangers across the state all weekend enforcing the boating laws and working boating incidents and drownings.”
In Cherokee County, the body of Sheila Ann Carlotta, 33, of Marietta, was found Sunday morning in the Kellogg Creek area of Lake Allatoona. On Tuesday, an autopsy determined Carlotta drowned and the death was ruled accidental, according to Lt. Jay Baker with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office.
In Hall County, the search continued Tuesday for a woman who jumped from a stationary boat into Lake Lanier to swim, but never resurfaced. The woman, whose name was not released, was last seen around 8:20 p.m. Sunday.
Sunday afternoon, a 1-year-old boy drowned in West Point Lake in Troup County, the DNR said. Deputies responded to Long Cane Access off West Point Road after the boy's mother found him unresponsive in shallow water, Channel 2 Action News reported. The boy was taken to West Georgia Medical Center, where he died.
Five of the BUI citations were for boaters on Lake Lanier, the DNR said. One person was cited on Lake Allatoona.
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