Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
A 20-year-old man was found alive at Lake Lanier after he was reported missing by his friends on Monday (July 8). FOX 5 Atlanta reports Zachary Rutledge was found by a Hall County Sheriff’s Office deputy.
The missing man’s friends called deputies around 8:30 pm after losing track of him as they were swimming. They were unsure if he was still in the lake or simply walked home on foot.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Hall County Fire Rescue launched a search. Water and aerial searches were conducted, but no sign of Zachary was found. The next morning, around 9 a.m., Zachary Rutledge flagged down a deputy as he patrolled the park.
Rutledge reportedly revealed that the previous day, he had swam from the shore to a nearby island. After he returned from his solo adventure, his homies were nowhere to be found. He slept in the park overnight since he did not have his cell phone to contact his friends or family.
FOX 5 reports Zachary stated that he heard helicopters above but had no clue that they were looking for him.
Lucky for Zachary, his story had a good ending. However, there is an ever-expanding list of mysterious deaths on the water.
As previously reported by The Shade Room, Gavrie Alexander Whitlock fell into the lake on Sept. 2, 2023, after he ran down a dock. He never resurfaced and reportedly drowned. Whitlocks’s body was later recovered in 17-foot-deep water.
Furthermore, two elderly men have died this year. Matthew Mayo passed away after his bass boat seat came unbolted as he fished with his wife. He fell into the water. The 73-year-old’s corpse was later retrieved by emergency crews.
76-year-old Jim Hansard was last seen chillin’ on a dock by the infamous lake. His parked golf car was found, and his shoe was discovered floating in the water, allegedly later found by a friend. The Department of Natural Resources pronounced him dead shortly after.
