The body of a teenager was pulled from the Ocmulgee River early Sunday morning, about 12 hours after he apparently drowned.
The 19-year-old, whose name has not been released, was apparently on an outing with his girlfriend and her family Saturday morning when he fell off an inner tube, said Allison Selman-Willis with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
"They were all in inner tubes that were tied together, but apparently the tubes became separated," Selman-Willis told the AJC Saturday night. "At some point, the young man decided he would swim to the boat dock."
The teen was not wearing a life preserver and apparently could not swim, Selman-Willis said. “Apparently he thought he could make it," she said.
The teen's body was pulled from the river shortly after midnight. The body will be taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy, Selman-Willis said in a statement.
Officials from Monroe County and dive and canine teams from neighboring counties assisted with the search for the teen, along with DNR officials, she said. Monroe County is located approximately 65 miles from downtown Atlanta.
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