As temperatures climb, throngs of people flock to Lake Lanier, 38,000 acres of refreshing blue waters and picturesque scenery.
While a day on the water can be a fun way for many to celebrate summer, swimming and boating come with dangers, too.
The risk of drowning rises with the warmer weather.
Authorities recovered Brown’s body a few days later near Vann’s Tavern Park in Forsyth County.
Less than two weeks ago, Corey Brown, 28, jumped off a pontoon boat on the lake to save a friend struggling in the water. Instead, currents swept Brown under the water, prompting a days-long search that ended tragically.
Brown’s fiancée, Jasmine Smith, said Brown was a good swimmer, and they had hoped to find him on the shore.
“If I was there to know that he had been outside all day, swimming all day, I knew he would automatically be tired,” Smith told Channel 2 Action News. “I would have told him before you do anything — try to save anybody — just make sure you have a life jacket.”
Brown was the ninth water-related death at Lake Lanier this year, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The deaths include seven drownings and two boating fatalities, which can also be a drowning but are counted separately when a person enters from the water from a vessel in motion.
Other recent drownings at Lake Lanier include two over Memorial Day weekend: One man drowned after his personal watercraft overturned on Lake Lanier, and another man drowned near a boat dock. Last year, Lake Lanier saw 11 water-related deaths including eight drownings and three boating-related fatalities. And the first half of this year has already surpassed the deadly toll of 2017 when there were seven water-related deaths including five drownings.