Update May 2 at 5:19 p.m.
The body of a Texas man who drowned in Lake Oconee has been found, according to Sheriff Donnie Harrison of the Greene County Sheriff's Office.
Sadly, Bertram Foster was found close to the Hixon's Bluff side of the cove he tried to swim across.
"He just about made it," Harrison said.
His body was found in water just 6 to 8 feet deep, about five yards from the bank, Harrison said.
"It's just an unfortunate situation."
Coroner Chris Peters has taken custody of the bod,y which will later be sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy.
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The Greene County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Greene County Fire and Rescue are searching for a possible drowning victim in the area of Plantation Point Drive and Hixon’s Bluff at Lake Oconee.
According to Sheriff Donnie Harrison, the GCSO received a call at 9:41 p.m., May 1, regarding a man who had jumped into the water in order to swim across a Lake Oconee cove from the Plantation Point side to the Hixon’s Bluff side but went under the water and had not come up for more than 10 minutes.
Personnel searched the area from 1 to 2 a.m. in an effort to locate the man, who was identified as Bertram Raymond Foster, 54, of Williamson, Texas. Search efforts were resumed at 7:30 a.m. this morning.
Harrison said Foster was on a golf trip with friends and left to swim over to Hixon’s Bluff in the area of the National Golf Course to a house where he was staying during the trip.
“We’re doing everything we can to locate him,” Harrison said. “The DNR is using SONAR equipment, but the lake is dark, and you can’t see very well.”
The Lake Oconee News will update this story as soon as more information is available.