Authorities continued searching Monday for a 31-year-old Atlanta woman who tired while swimming in Lake Lanier and could not make it back to her boat.
The woman, identified as Madeline Sinagra, jumped off a sailboat to go for a swim Sunday, and the boat drifted away from her, according to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
Double-digit winds at the lake may have been a factor.
“The wind was blowing pretty heavy (Sunday), and it blew the sailboat parallel and away from her,” Department of Natural Resources spokesman Mike Burgamy told WSB-TV.
Deputies and fire services were called to the lake between Port Royale and Old Federal Park just before 4 p.m. Sunday on fears Sinagra had drowned.
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A man still on the boat tried to rescue her when she became tired. After attempts to throw a line to her failed, the man went after her, he told deputies.
“The male reported that he then went into the water in an attempt to rescue the victim, but was unable to locate her after she went under and did not resurface,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks said in a statement.
Sinagra was not wearing a life jacket, according to WSB-TV.
Dive teams spent an hour looking for Sinagra Sunday afternoon but had to suspend their search due to lightning in the area.
The woman’s suspected drowning comes days after the body of a 51-year-old woman was pulled from the lake. It is assumed she drowned after falling off a dock, according to authorities.
Teresa Ann Graham of Hall County was pulled from the lake Tuesday night shortly after her husband noticed her missing.
"Investigators have found no evidence of foul play in the death," sheriff's spokesman Lt. Scott Ware said.
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