Boy found drowned at Lake Allatoona

The man brought the boy, now identified by authorities as Travis Popham, to shore and called 911.

Emergency crews attempted CPR on Popham on a playground at the campground before transporting him to Northside Cherokee hospital. Cavender said CPR was continued at the hospital for about 30 minutes before the boy was pronounced dead.

Melissa Cummings, spokeswoman for the department of Natural Resources, said Popham was camping at Sweetwater with extended family.

"It's my understanding that he was swimming, but we don't know the proximity of the family when he was," Cummings told the AJC.

"It's uncertain if he was swimming alone, or what the details were exactly on how he drowned," Cavender said.

Kevin Lunsford, of the Cherokee County coroner's office, examined Popham's body after he was taken to shore. He said investigators received some "conflicting stories" about how long his body may have been submerged, so he didn't want to comment on how long he thought the body was under.

He did say, however, that emergency crews wanted to continue performing CPR because "they didn't think he'd been under too long to revive." Lunsford said there was no apparent signs of injury or struggle and no evidence of head trauma.

"We really have no idea what happened to the little fellow," Lunsford said. "It's too bad, because his family said he was actually a very good swimmer."

The boy's parents, who were not at the scene, have been notified.

"Cherokee County does not expect to file any charges of neglect or anything at this time," Cumming said. "This was just a terrible tragedy at the lake."

Sweetwater Creek is a campground in Sutallee, an unincorporated community in Cherokee County.

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