Man drowns in Lake Lanier

An off-duty Lawrenceville police officer drowned in Lake Lanier Thursday evening.

Lawrenceville police Capt. Greg Vaughn identified the officer as 35-year-old Canon Collender.

Forsyth County divers recovered Callender’s body around 7 p.m., a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said.

Callender, who Vaughn said had been a Lawrenceville officer for about four years, drowned at Little Ridge Park near Cumming.

His body was located 35 feet from the shore in water 10 feet deep, according to authorities.

Cpl. Eric Sanders, of the DNR, told Channel 2 Action News the manVaughn, who was in the water alone, yelled for help before he went underwater.

“He went under and didn’t come back until he was recovered,” Sanders said.

Callender, a graduate of Duluth High School and Gwinnett Technical College, was single, according to his public Facebook page.

-- Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.

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