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Searchers recover body of fisherman in Lake Lanier

The missing man's wife found his truck and fishing gear near the lake shore.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Rescuers have recovered the body of a Lawrenceville man believed to have drowned in Lake Lanier over the weekend, authorities said.

Benjamin Franklin Jackson, 48, told a friend he planned to go fishing overnight on Sunday, but apparently never returned.

His wife notified the Hall County Sheriff's Office that he was missing, and that she had tracked his mobile phone to Flowery Branch Park. She and another individual found Jackson's truck and fishing equipment in the area Monday, near the shore of Lake Lanier.

Investigators from the Sheriff's Office and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources responded. With the help of sonar imaging equipment, they found Jackson's body in the lake about 20 feet off shore, in about 7.5 feet of water.

Deputies said there were no signs of foul play and, pending autopsy, labeled the death an accidental drowning.

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