Man, 76, is Lake Lanier’s 2nd drowning victim of the year

A 76-year-old Gainesville man drowned in Lake Lanier late Wednesday, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Jim Hansard was last seen around lunchtime at his dock in Forsyth County near Keith Bridge Park. Later Wednesday, a friend saw Hansard’s golf cart still parked at the dock and a water shoe floating nearby, a DNR spokesman said.

Investigators, including Forsyth County deputies and firefighters, were called to the area around 9:30 p.m. Using a boat-mounted SONAR device, wardens located Hansard’s body in 13 feet of water, the DNR said. Forsyth divers recovered the body.

Wednesday’s drowning was the second of the year on Lake Lanier, and both happened within the past week. In 2023, 13 people drowned in the lake, according to DNR data.

On May 29, a man who was fishing with his wife drowned after falling from his boat, the DNR previously said.

Investigators said they believe that when Matthew Mayo of Gainesville tried to sit in a seat on the bass boat, it became unbolted from the bottom, causing him to fall into the water. Mayo, 73, did not resurface.

His body was located in six feet of water, the DNR said. A remote-operated vessel was then able to recover Mayo’s body.

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