Authorities have identified the man who drowned Saturday following a baptism ceremony at Lake Lanier as 37-year-old Ciro Jimenez Beltron.
Beltron, of Forest Park, was pulled from the lake Monday morning after rescuers returned to search for him. Divers quickly found the man's body floating on top of the water near the area where he was said to have entered the lake, according to Lt. Eric Eberly, spokesman for the Gwinnett County Fire Department.
Eberly said the victim, who reportedly could not swim, was wading in Buford Dam Park when he probably slipped in an area where the lake drops off from 3 feet to 13 feet. Beltron was with a church group of about 60 people that had been conducting baptisms in the lake earlier in the day. A smaller group of people, including Beltron, lingered for several hours afterward to enjoy the afternoon, Eberly said.
Authorities were contacted about 8 p.m. Saturday and told that the man was last seen about two hours earlier. There were some initial communication problems between the rescuers and witnesses because the churchgoers were from a Spanish-speaking congregation, Eberly said. Authorities did not know the name of the church.
A short search was conducted Saturday night and again on Sunday from 9 a.m. until about 6 p.m.
The Sunday search involved members of the Gwinnett County Swift Water Team, Dawson County Emergency Services K9, Forsyth County Fire Dive Team, Hall County Dive, Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Eberly said.
Dogs also were brought in that specialize in land and water searches for bodies, he said.
The body has been turned over to the Gwinnett County Medial Examiner for further evaluation and determination of cause of death.
* Staff writers Fran Jeffries and Nancy Badertscher contributed to this article.
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