MIDNIGHT ENTHUSIASTS

Jackson Lake is 4,750 acres with 135 miles of shoreline in Butts, Jasper and Newton counties. It was created in 1910 when the Ocmulgee River was dammed. Here is a partial accounting of people who have died in its waters since then.

On July 15, 1939, Bobby Lee Collins, a 16-year-old Butts County resident, was killed on the lake when a collision between a row boat and a motor boat looked imminent. He jumped out of the row boat into the path of the other craft and was terribly injured by the boat's propeller.

A 17-year-old student from Decatur named Lanier Bullard drowned in the lake on March 23, 1940 when his fishing boat overturned in deep water. It was believed that Bullard could nto swim and became entangled in trout lines he and a companion had been setting. His body was recovered three hours later.

On Sunday, June 16, 1940, Legare Burney, a 42-year-old boat house operator, and Thomas Lee Pound, a 30-year-old state department of welfare employee, drowned when their motorboat threw them overboard. A third man swam to shore. As they were returning to the Jasper County side of the lake from a steak dinner on the Butts County side, the boat took a sharp turn, throwing all three passengers into the water before bursting into flames. Burney's body was recovered nearly a month later near Hardy's Neck where the accident occurred, but Pound's body was not recovered until the middle of October.

Two Atlanta men, J. W. Plunkett and G. R. Dell, were killed on September 15, 1940 when their plane crashed into Jackson Lake near Barnetts Bridge. Both bodies were recovered soon after the accident. According to witnesses, the plane had been circling the lake at a low altitude for some time, before it nose dived into 35-feet of water.

On Saturday night, April 15, 1950, Tod Williams, age 33 of East Point, drowned about a mile-and-a-half from Jackson Lake Inn. It was believed that he toppled from a boat while trying to refuel the motor. His body was recovered two weeks later after hundreds of people joined the search for it.

Helen Payne Patillo, a 26-year-old resident of Smyrna, drowned when the boat she was riding in with friends lost its motor and threw her and her small son into 80 feet of water. The son was pulled back into the boat, but Patillo went down in the deep water near Jackson Lake Inn. Her body was recovered that night.

Jackson Lake claimed two victims on June 17, 1951 when W. Earl Wells and Mary Hopkins of Macon drowned. The homemade motorboat the pair were in capsized in deep water near Scout Island. Mrs. Hopkins' husband and son were pulled from the water, and the bodies of the other two were recovered a few hours after the incident.

On September 1, 1952, Jack William Tidwell, a 24-year-old from Macon, drowned on the lake when he fell from his surfboard. His body was recovered the next day.

On May 24, 1953, seven-year-old Gene Lyle of Chamblee drowned in the lake near Jackson Lake Inn. His mother and an Atlanta man were held in the Butts County Jail on charges of operating a motorboat under the influence of alcohol and negligence. It was reported that the boy either fell or jumped from the boat into 12 feet of water as the boat neared the shore. His body was recovered a few hours later. According to Sheriff J. D. Pope, Lyle's death brought the total number of people drowned on the lake to over 100 since Jackson Lake was created in 1909.

Ernest Elvin Plunkett, a resident of Covington, drowned on Jackson Lake on July 28, 1953 when he fell out of a boat he was attempting to crank. The incident occurred near Barnett's Bridge and the body was recovered soon after by his kinsmen.

An Atlanta woman, Eunice Bates Speights, 58, drowned on December 21, 1953 in a dramatic suicide leap from Barnett's Bridge into the 35-foot-deep water of Jackson Lake. While driving across the bridge, she expressed to her husband a desire to see the lake more closely. As he slowed the vehicle, she leaped from the car leaving her husband clutching her coat he grabbed in an effort to stop her. She leaped from the bridge into the cold water and her body surfaced 40 minutes later.

Marvin O. McCord, Jr. died on July 3, 1955 when he drowned in Jackson Lake near Scout Island. It is believed McCord went for an early morning swim and either suffered a heart attack or severe cramps soon after he dove in the lake from a boat dock. His body was recovered a few hours later.

A 25-year-old Marietta man, Richard G. Handley, drowned in Jackson Lake about 3:30 a.m. on April 22, 1956 when he fishing boat capsized near the Tussahaw Bridge. His body was recovered soon after daybreak. He left behind a wife and two small daughters.

The lake claimed two lives in separate accidents on July 29, 1956. John B. Robbins, a 33-year-old attorney from Macon, drowned in the early morning hours near Jackson Lake Inn when a boat he and friend were in overturned. His body was not recovered in water 35 to 50 feet deep until August 4 when the pilot of a place passing over the lake spotted it.

On the afternoon of July 29, 1956 near Waters bridge, 23-year-old Hiram Ellis of Covington drowned when the boat he and a friend were in overturned while cutting across the wake of a larger boat. His body was recovered several hours later.

On June 28, 1958, 27-year-old Raymond A. Pozza of Decatur fell from a boat in which he and two companions were riding at 2 p.m. in the South River area of the lake. His body was recovered the next morning, and his death ruled an accidental drowning.

Later that day on June 29, 1958, three-year-old John McConneghry Ware of Houston, Texas fell from his grandparents' dock. Relatives tried for two hours to resuscitate the child but their efforts proved fruitless.

On April 8, 1963, eight-year-old Ricky Childers fell off a fishing pier on the Newton County portion of the lake. His uncle, 36-year-old James Smith, jumped in the water in an effort to save the child. Witnesses report that Smith had the child in tow and was heading for the surface when both disappeared. The bodies were recovered within 20 minutes.

On May 1, 1963, an Atlanta woman, Mrs. Evielon Brownlee Corbin, 41, drowned in Jackson Lake when she fell from a fishing boat in the Newton County area of the lake. She was standing alone in the boat, according to witnesses.

In June 1963, Mrs. M. W. Reeves found the huge track of a snake, which measured 10.5 inches wide. Men familiar with snakes believe an unusually large highland moccasin made the track.

In May 1964, Eugene Talmadge Davis, Sr., 30 of Griffin, succumbed to injuries he sustained when he fell out of his boat on Jackson Lake while trying to repair the steering and was run over twice by his own boat.

Two midnight enthusiasts soared into the wild black void and over the Lloyd Shoals Dam early in the morning on June 21, 1964 narrowly escaping death. The victims were Joseph F. Wilkes of East Point and Felton G. Harvey of Covington. One of the men was skiing when the fiberglass boat powered by a 75-horsepower motor went over the dam in a straight line. Both men were badly hurt with numerous broken bones.

On March 12, 1966, 33-year-old Rowland Barnett Walker of Atlanta drowned when he attempted to swim across a cove in the Tussahaw Creek area of Jackson Lake. Friends had wagered he could not swim the 125-yard span, and report that he went below shortly after swimming away from the dock fully clothes except for his shoes.

A five-and-a-half-year-old boy from Decatur named Kenneth Franklin Meaders drowned the in the Tussahaw Creek area of Jackson Lake on June 12, 1966. He was last seen playing in the yard of his host, and his father found his body in three feet of water.

The body of a Social Circle man was found on October 14, 1966 floating in the part of Jackson Lake near the Yellow and South rivers. Jesse Marion Haralson, age 39, had been missing since October 4. His car was found in the lake near the body, and was believed to have been in the water for several days.

Thirty-three-year-old Robert Lee Smith of Riverdale became the first drowning victim on 1967 when he went swimming by himself in Jackson Lake on April 2. There were no eyewitnesses to the incident, and his body was found a few hours later in water estimated to be six feet deep.

Walter D. Bruce of Atlanta drowned on October 7, 1967 when the fishing boat he was in capsized just south of Barnett's Bridge across from Kersey's Marina. Bruce stood up to adjust the cushion he was sitting on, lost his balance and fell in the water, turning over the small boat in the process. Both men held on to the overturned boat for several minutes when Bruce announced he was going to swim to shore, some 40 yards away. He went under soon after leaving the boat and his body was found a few hours later in 15 feet of water.

Jackson Lake's first drowning victim of 1968 – somewhat later than usual – was recorded on May 18. John Iler, age 39 of College Park, was swimming under Barnetts Bridge from one bank to the other. His body was recovered in 35 feet of water several hours after the incident was reported.

A 20-year-old girl from Decatur, Jan Elizabeth Moody, lost a leg in a skiing accident on July 4, 1969. She was being pulled behind a ski boat when she fell and was struck by another boat, the propeller mangling her knee almost severing the leg. Her leg was later amputated.

Also over the July 4 holiday weekend of 1969, Alton Potts lost his right index finger when a ski rope became entangled and stripped the flesh from his finger. The digit was later amputated.

A year later, on July 4, 1970, J. B. Lazenby, age 16 of Eatonton, drowned while swimming across the South River just north of the Highway 36 bridge. Lazenby and several companions had reportedly swam the neck of the river several times, when he tried it one last time and went under. A friend tried to rescue him, but had to give up due to the force of Lazenby's struggle. His body was recovered a few hours later by divers.

At one o'clock in the morning of Sunday, August 9, 1970 William Joe Kelley, 35 of Austell, was fishing in a cove on Jackson Lake with a friend when he leaned over too far to check a trot line and fell in water believed to be 40 feet deep. His body was found nine hours later after an extensive search.

On July 25, 1971, a 10-year-old named Marty Leo McGruder drowned in the waters just below Lloyd Shoals Dam. Witnesses say he was wading and swimming with his sister in three to four feet of water when he lost his footing and his body was caught in underwater by the tremendous suction from a drain hole. Rescuers attempted for several hours to pull the boy's body free, but could not until the drain was clogged with rags and the suction pressure eased.

Two men from Riverdale were killed on April 16, 1972 when their semi-cabin cruiser went over the east side of the Lloyd Shoals Dam crashing on the huge boulders some 70 feet below. Jack R. Wambles, 29, was believed killed instantly, while Lloyd Chumley, 33, succumbed to his wounds soon after the incident. Wambles' watch stopped at 12:26 a.m., the time of the tragedy.

The body of 14-year-old Tommy Smith Bryant was discovered on June 8, 1972 under a dock where he had disappeared from his boat four days earlier. The boy was reportedly last seen in his boat alone. His empty boat was found with his socks and shoes still in it. He lived with his parents in a trailer not far from the dock.

The body of 13-year-old Robert Barton Bryant of Decatur was found on August 5, 1972 lodged beneath a rock in a deep pool on the Alcovy River sector of Jackson Lake. He had fallen out of an inner tube while riding the shoals nearby.

[1972-1974] A fishing outing by two Atlanta men on the storm-tossed waters of Jackson Lake turned tragic when Arthur M. Barber, 79, fell from his boat at Barnetts Bridge and is believed to have died from a heart attack. Witnesses believed the body, which was recovered a few minutes later, never went below the surface.

On the night of February 27, 1976, Max A. Dunn, a 42-year-old man from Morrow, died when a boat he was piloting drove head-on into a private dock near Barnetts Bridge. His body was recovered a few hours later, and his two companions escaped with minor injuries.

Twenty-eight-year-old Brenda Belvin of Statesboro died on June 26, 1976 was killed when the boat she was riding in was broadsided by another boat. The accident occurred in the Tussahaw Creek area of the lake, and she was pronounced dead at Sylvan Grove Hospital.

On the afternoon of April 10, 1977, George Callaway of Riverdale drowned near Kersey's Boat Dock. Apparently, he and a companion decided to go for a swim, although it was reported that Callaway could not swim. The body was recovered the next morning in water 40 feet deep.

Fifteen-year-old MacArthur Miles of Barnesville drowned in the lake on May 31, 1977. According to Sheriff Billy Leverette, the youth drowned in about five feet of water while out with friends.

Jeffrey English, a 22-year-old Butts County resident, became the seventh fatality of 1977 on Jackson Lake. Early in the morning on June 29, 1977 he was reported missing by friends who were not sure if he fell off a dock or dove in the water in the South River section of the lake. His body was recovered several hours later.

In addition to the three fatalities on the Butts County side of the lake in 1977, one person drowned on the Newton County side and two drowned on the Jasper County side of the lake, while another individual died in a boating accident on the Jasper County side.

Dorsey Eugene Wheeler of Griffin drowned on July 7, 1978 while swimming near Martin's Marina on the Jasper County side of the lake. The victim was said to have jumped from a boat for a swim, but never resurfaced. His body was recovered the next morning in water 50-feet-deep.

On April 5, 1979, Jerry Cornelius McDuffie, age 45 of McDonough, drowned after he saved his grandson from the same fate. McDuffie and his wife and grandson were fishing in a place called Conley's Ditch and were about to leave when his truck rolled into the lake with the grandson trapped in the cab. McDuffie and some passers-by broke open one of the truck's windows, removed the boy and passed him hand-to-hand back to shore. McDuffie, however, did not make it back to shore. His body was recovered later that night.

Two Marietta men were killed on June 7, 1980 when the mast of their sailboat struck an overhead power line and electrocuted both. Gregory Chastain and Jerry Cecil Foushe were sailing in the Alcovy River area of the lake when the accident occurred. Witnesses reported seeing "a ball of fire" travel down the mast of the boat. The resulting charge threw both men from the boat. The incident also knocked out power to 1,000 residences.

On February 20, 1982 24-year-old Larry Bremond Ellenburg of Morrow drowned after a small boat he was in capsized in water 15- to 20-feet-deep. Ellenburg was wearing several layers of clothing as well as steel-toed boots, which impeded his swimming ability. His body was pulled from the water later that night near Jackson Lake Inn.

On June 2, 1982, eight-year-old Betty Elizabeth Brown was playing in the Lloyd Shoals Dam public use area of the lake with several companions when she became missing. The body was recovered in water 2- to 3-feet deep. She was in town from Kentucky visiting relatives here.

Two-year-old Jeremy Kyle Pruett of Lithonia drowned on July 3, 1982 near the Scout Island cove. He was playing with his brother on a dock when he fell into the water. He was recovered from the lake and taken to Sylvan Grove Hospital where efforts to revive him failed.

On August 6, 1982, 23-year-old Bobby Taylor Dotson of Forest Park, was killed instantly when he fell from a boat and the boat's propeller struck him in the head. Sheriff Billy Leverette said Dotson was operating the boat, which was pulling a skier behind it, and it is believed he was thrown from the craft when he made a sharp turn. His body was recovered several hours after the accident.

Seven-year-old Christina Elaine Kelly drowned in 10- to 12-feet of water on August 7, 1982. Her family found her doll floating in the lake's surface near a dock and called the Butts County Sheriff's Office. Her body was recovered an hour later.

A boating accident on June 29, 1983, claimed the lives of two men on Jackson Lake. A bass boat struck a smaller boat – that had no lights affixed to it – sending both passengers in the smaller vessel into the water. Glenn David Williams, age 39 of Conyers, drowned. His body was recovered three days later in 75 feet of water approximately one half mile above the dam. The body of his fishing partner, Luther Albert Morris, age 45 of Conyers, was found on July 7, 1983.

A Florida man, Michael B. Fuller, escaped serious injury on August 15, 1983 when his single-engine plane crashed into Jackson Lake. The plane, equipped with a pontoon landing device, struck electrical and telephone lines causing it to flip over and land upside down in the water near Kersey's Marina.

On April 11, 1985 Edgar Pittman, 53, left his dock on Tussahaw Point in an outboard motorboat. His boat was found drifting about a half mile from his dock the next afternoon, but Pittman was not found. The Butts County Sheriff's Office dragged the lake for several days in search of his body, but did not find it until April 18. The cause of death was ruled accidental drowning.

On May 11, 1985, the body of Michael Thomas Brown, age 22 of Riverdale, was brought to the surface of Jackson Lake about 15 minutes after he fell into the water. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Brown had been trying to insert a plug into a boat when he fell backwards into seven-foot-deep water off the Haley Road area of the lake.

Reon D.Andre Davis, age 20 of Jackson, drowned in the area known as "the circle" near the Georgia Power dam on July 25, 1985. Witnesses said he and friends had been playing with a beach ball when he went missing. His body was recovered in water four feet deep.

[compiled by Marshall Avett]