Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Body of Atlanta Man Recovered from Amicalola Creek

The DNR Law Enforcement Division reports they have recovered the body of a 45-year-old Atlanta man from Amicalola Creek near Dawsonville.

Update: 9-2-13, 10:50 p.m.

The body of an Atlanta man who died Sunday afternoon in Amicalola Creek near Dawsonville was recovered at 12:53 p.m. Monday, according to the DNR Law Enforcement Division.

Ramiro Ponce-Ruiz, 45, was swimming with family and friends at Devil's Elbow on Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area when witnesses said he swam into the pool, dove, came back up and began to struggle.

A diver with the Dawson County dive team found his body, ending a search that began Sunday. The recovery included DNR, the Dawson County Sheriff's Office and Fire Department, Dawson’s dive team, and Cherokee County divers.

Hall County Sheriff’s Office divers were preparing to help Monday.

Original Article: 9-2-13, 12:05 p.m.

The search for the body of a 45-year-old Atlanta man in Amicalola Creek near Dawsonville resumed Monday morning, according to a press release from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

The man, whose name has not been released pending notification of kin, was with a group of family and friends Sunday afternoon at Devil's Elbow, a popular swimming spot near Steele Bridge Road on Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area.

At about 4 p.m., the victim swung into the large, swift pool on a rope swing, and at some point while swimming back to the bank went under and did not resurface.

The DNR Law Enforcement Division and Dawson County Sheriff's Office searched until about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The search, including divers with the Sheriff's Office and Dawson Fire Department K9s, began around 8 a.m. Monday.

"No further details are available at this time," said Rick Lavender, spokesperson of the DNR Law Enforcement Division.

Stay with Cumming Patch for updates on this developing story.


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