Another Elderly Man Dies At Lake Lanier As Summer Season Starts

Lake Lanier has claimed a second life in the span of a week. Local authorities found the body of 76-year-old Jim Hansard after he’d been missing for nine hours. Hansard is from Gainsville, Georgia, per WSB-TV.

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Details On The Latest Drowning At Lake Lanier

Hansard was reportedly chilling at his dock around lunchtime on Wednesday (June 5), the last time someone spotted him. By nightfall, his alleged friend found his parked golf cart and a floating shoe belonging to the senior citizen in the water.

The Department of Natural Resources reportedly confirmed that they found Jim’s body inside Lake Lanier, near Keith Bridge Park. His body was in 13 feet of water. Emergency crews pulled up at about 9:30 p.m. ET and used SONAR mounted on a boat to locate and recover the corpse. It’s unclear how Jim Hansard ended up inside the water.

All further details on this case are still pending, per local reports. However, this marks the death death at the man-made lake amid the start of the summer season!

Summer 2024: First Man Who Passed Away

Matthew Mayo was the first man to pass at the lake that goes viral every summer season for unusual drowning deaths. Mayo was fishing with his wife when his bass boat seat came unbolted, and he fell into the water. Emergency crews later pulled the 73-year-old’s body from six feet of water.

RELATED: So Eerie! 74-Year-Old Man Drowns In Lake Lanier While Fishing With His Wife

In 2023, there were 13 drownings at Lake Lanier in Region 2 of the 38,000 acres of water, per an annual report by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. There were also 15 boating incidents on the lake and twelve total injuries.

People living in Atlanta and surrounding areas will tell you that there are folk legends about the lake being haunted. The lake is not only for recreational use but a resource for hydroelectricity and drinking water accessibility.

But before it was all of that, Lake Lanier was a thriving and vibing city on the outskirts named Oscarville. The water is so deep in certain areas that it covers what used to be rooftops, the foundations of homes, cemeteries, and a speedway.

If you want to know more about that history and what the streets have to say about Lake Lanier, watch TSR Investigates’ Justin Carter break it down below!