ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — Crews spent the day Tuesday searching for a missing boater on Black Shoals Lake in Rockdale County.
Troy Cobb, 46, disappeared Friday night while fishing with his friend Prince Lewis and Lewis' 12-year-old son.
The battery on Cobb's boat died. One of his employees brought a second battery, which also failed.
While the boaters were paddling to shore, the boat began to sink.
“Approximately 30 minutes later, the boat lost power again and we started paddling, and me and my son and Troy went into the water,” Lewis said.
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Lewis said they had called various agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources and park staff, but they could not get any help.
“We called the office, the parks and recreation office, to let them be aware that our battery had died,” Lewis said.
A DNR spokesperson said the agency is a public safety agency and does not handle maintenance issues, so no one responded.
Lewis and his son were able to swim to shore, but Cobb is still missing.
“The water started weighing down my pants down and I started to sink. I took my clothes off and I got separated from my son,” Lewis said.
He said he was reunited with his son, but never saw or heard from his friend.
Lewis and his son were rescued by firefighters who found them wandering through the woods.
The DNR said boaters in distress should call 911 first.
“If we would have honestly thought a battery would have caused so much destruction, we would have called 911,” Lewis said.
Cobb’s wife said DNR still should have come to help.
“This could have been avoided. They should have just helped him,” she said.
The DNR said boaters 12 years old and younger are required to wear a life jacket and they recommend adults wear them too.
DNR officers plan to go back to the lake Wednesday to search for Cobb again.