HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A local fisherman says one of his worst fears was realized during a trip to Lake Lanier.
The fisherman told Channel 2's Tom Regan he discovered a minivan with the body of a man deep inside the lake.
"One of my worst fears is seeing a drowning victim or something out there," said fisherman Jason Millen. "To come across something like that, it's crazy."
The man inside the van had been reported missing for months.
"It was pretty, pretty eerie," the fisherman said.
Millen set out on the lake Sunday, hoping to reel in a big bass. But when he was about 20 yards from shore, he spotted something shiny under the surface in a cove at the bottom of the lake.
"With my boat, and was right over the top of it, and I noticed it was a van," Millen said.
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Thoughts raced through his mind; How did it get here? How long has it been submerged?
He called for help and noticed a large crack on the windshield. He thinks that happened when a boat ran over the van at some point.
"It looks like an engine or a boat motor went across it," Millen said.
Divers arrived and hooked the van to pull it out of the lake. That's when they discovered Van Dobb's body inside.
The 56-year-old man from Forsyth County had been reported missing since June.
Why his van was in the lake isn't known, but authorities said foul play is not suspected.
Millen said he believes the van was driven into the lake from a dirt road near the shore.
The minivan was found in about 15 feet of water and was covered in algae.
"Since June 5, when this man was missing, I can only imagine how hard that has been on them," Millen said.
The medical examiner said they are trying to determine the cause of the death, and could have results next week.
A day on the lake turns into a nightmare.
Posted by WSB-TV on Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Cox Media Group
