A Brookhaven man was found dead Friday night at the bottom of Tallulah Gorge, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said.
William Lang Pottle, 39, was found about 150 feet from the top of an overlook at the state park in northeast Georgia, agency spokesman Mark McKinnon said. The search was prompted after Georgia DNR game wardens got a call around 9:30 p.m. regarding a missing hiker. Pottle’s car was found in the parking lot of the park’s Interpretative Center.
Rabun County Search and Rescue along with park staff began the search along the gorge rim trails but did not find Pottle, McKinnon said. Shortly after 11 p.m., Rabun SAR searched into the gorge with a drone and found Pottle dead at the bottom, he added.
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Due to the darkness and poor weather conditions, the operation to recover the body was halted until the following morning, McKinnon said. It resumed at 7 a.m. Saturday and Pottle’s body was successfully recovered by 11 a.m.
McKinnon did not say how Pottle got to the bottom of the gorge and said the investigation is active. Pottle’s body was turned over to the Rabun County Coroner’s Office.
In April, a Blue Ridge woman died after falling from an overlook in Tallulah Gorge. Agencies initially responded to a report that someone had fallen or jumped from a high ledge, Habersham County Emergency Services Director Chad Black said at the time. He later confirmed that Nancy Moore Smith, 58, had died and her body was recovered.
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