The search will continue Wednesday morning for a man believed to have drowned in Lake Lanier over the weekend.
Jeffrey Nause, 44, of Cobb County, "went missing" from a moving sailboat just after midnight Saturday morning near Three Sisters Island, Hall County sheriff's investigators said. Alcohol is a possible contributing factor, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said Monday.
The DNR was one of several agencies assisting with the search on Monday and Tuesday, but Nause was not located. Divers reached depths of 118 feet in 42-degree water during the efforts, Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks with the Hall County Sheriff's Office said Monday afternoon.
Visibility for divers in the area is around 30 inches due to standing timber below the water's surface, Wilbanks said.
Heavy boating traffic throughout the weekend made search efforts dangerous for divers and sonar equipment, Wilbanks said. Water depths range from 70 to 140 feet in the area where investigators believe Nause's body is located, Wilbanks said.
The DNR is investigating the accident, Wilbanks said Monday. Divers from Forsyth County also were helping with the search, which involved eight boats on the water and a helicopter, Robin Hill, DNR spokeswoman, told the AJC.
Cadaver dogs from the Dawson County EMS indicated two possible underwater objects Monday. But neither the sonar equipment nor the divers were able to locate anything in the area, Wilbanks said. The dogs did not return Tuesday.
Nause, of Mableton, is the CEO of an Atlanta-based company specializing in semiconductor development and production. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1991 with a degree in engineering, the university confirmed.
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