ATLANTA — A body was found in the search for a man who went missing on Lake Lanier, multiple news outlets reported May 16, citing local authorities.
The body has not been identified as Dustin Valencia, who disappeared while kayaking on the lake Wednesday, May 14.
Crews recovered the person in “approximately 50 feet of water,” according to WAGA, citing authorities.
A kayak and paddle were found near Lake Lanier amid the search for a missing father of five, according to Georgia deputies and news outlets.
Someone found the equipment thought to belong to Dustin Valencia, 43, though the search for the missing man is ongoing, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said in a May 16 update.
“FCSO, Forsyth County Fire, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Army Corps Engineers are beginning to search the area,” according to authorities.
Valencia was last seen Wednesday, May 14, and his car was later found parked at Little Ridge Park in Cumming, per an incident report obtained by McClatchy News
His wife, Jennifer Valencia, reported her husband missing after he didn’t pick their kids up from school that afternoon, authorities said.
She used the “Find My iPhone” feature to ping him to another location, but didn’t find him there, deputies said. That’s when she contacted authorities.
According to WSB-TV, search crews today were focused on a cove at the lake where Dustin Valencia’s kayak and paddle were found.
Winds were blowing toward the cove, so the “kayak likely would have blown back to where he started” if he ran into trouble on the water, the station reported, citing the sheriff’s office.
Dustin Valencia’s friends and family have also turned out to help look for the missing father of five, WXIA and WANF reported.
“As soon as we got the word, groups of people came together to pray,” Dillon Taylor, a family friend, told WANF. “We know that if the situation were reversed, they would be on the front lines.”
Forsyth County is about a 40-mile drive northeast from downtown Atlanta.
By TANASIA KENNEY/McClatchy News
