The body of a father of five who vanished last week while kayaking on a Georgia lake has been discovered underwater, police said.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office reported that Dustin Valencia, 43, was declared missing on Wednesday after he failed to collect his children from school, as noted by his wife.
In response, a search was launched, which led authorities to Lake Lanier in Georgia. There, they discovered Valencia’s car parked close by, along with his flip-flops and the bag for his inflatable kayak.
On Friday, officials revealed that Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens, utilizing sonar technology, identified a body in the lake. Divers from the Forsyth County Fire Department retrieved the remains from approximately 51 feet deep, near the center of a cove.
An official cause of death has not been released. The case remains under investigation by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit. The sheriff’s office referred Fox News Digital to the department’s press release.
“Please continue to share [and] pray,” a GoFundMe for the family said. “The Valencia family feels your love and strength, and they are deeply grateful for the community that surrounds them.”
Lake Lanier, a reservoir in Atlanta, Georgia, that is a popular destination for water sports enthusiasts. (Getty Images)
Lake Lanier, where Valencia disappeared, is home to a popular local legend. The ghost story of the Lady of the Lake involves a woman in a blue dress who is said to haunt the lake after dying in a car accident there in the 1950s.
The man-made lake has a maximum depth of about 160 feet and was created in the 1950s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
