A 22-year-old Cherokee County man on a outing with friends drowned Saturday as he attempted to swim across the Chattahoochee River.
The body of Girona L. Pye, most recently of Woodstock, was pulled from about 15 feet of water Sunday around 8:30 a.m., Sgt. Mike Barr with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources told the AJC. A Cobb County dive team assisted with the recovery within the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Barr said.
Pye was with friends in the Sandy Point area along the river, where the group grilled out and consumed alcohol, Barr said. When Pye and a friend attempted to swim across the river to a spot known as Diving Rock, Pye appeared to get tired before eventually going under the water, witnesses told investigators.
"He did not make it to the other side," Barr said Sunday afternoon.
Pye, described as a marginal swimmer, was not wearing a life preserver, Barr said. Pye's girlfriend told rescuers Pye hadn't planned to be in the water before attempting the swim across.
Foul play is not suspected in the drowning death, but alcohol may have been a factor, according to the DNR. The incident remains under investigation.
Pye's death is believed the second in metro Atlanta waters in the past week. Monday afternoon, the body of a Cedartown man was pulled from Lake Allatoona.
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