ELBERT COUNTY, Ga. — A nearly weeklong search for a missing fisherman has ended with the discovery of a body in Lake Russell in northeast Georgia, authorities said Monday.
Elbert County Sheriff Jamie Callaway said deputies and Elbert County Emergency Services personnel recovered the body from the Coldwater Creek area, where crews had been searching for David Payton.
Payton had been fishing from the shore of Coldwater Creek off Highway 368 on March 3 and had not been heard from since then, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies were first notified Thursday evening of an overdue fisherman near Lake Russell. Deputies responded that night with a bloodhound team and began searching for Payton.
A large-scale search effort expanded Friday as multiple agencies joined the operation. Authorities said 40 to 50 personnel searched wooded areas along the lake on foot, using ATVs and drones.
Assisting in the search were Elbert County Emergency Services, Elbert County Fire, the Elbert County Dive Team, Oglethorpe County Emergency Services, Madison County Emergency Services and Hart County Emergency Services. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Georgia State Patrol Aviation Unit also assisted.
Conservation rangers and dive team members used boats and underwater drones to search the water, while a Georgia State Patrol helicopter conducted aerial searches. A volunteer civilian pilot also assisted in the aerial search, Sheriff Callaway said.
Ground searches continued throughout the weekend.
On Monday morning, Callaway requested additional assistance from the Hart County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Chris Carroll and two investigators responded with a boat equipped with sonar equipment.
During the search, sonar detected a body in the water.
Deputy Coroner Beth Seymour and members of the Elbert County Dive Team responded to help recover the body. Officials said the body will be sent to the medical examiner’s office for positive identification and an autopsy.
Callaway thanked the many agencies, volunteers and landowners who assisted with the search.
