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Monroe County Sheriff's Office finds drowned swimmer near Popes Ferry boat ramp

Witnesses saw the swimmer near a shallow sand bar, according to deputies. The swimmer was later located with a drone search.

JULIETTE, Ga. — A man drowned in Monroe County on Sunday, according to a press release from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office

The sheriff's office says deputies were sent to the Popes Ferry boat ramp - near Georgia Highway 87 - around 9:00 p.m. Sunday to search for a missing person on the Ocmulgee River. 

They say the deputies spoke with witnesses who saw a swimmer disappear underneath the waves while swimming in a shallow sand bar.

The release says deputies used drones to search for the missing swimmer, and the Monroe County Fire Department and the Department of Natural Resources both helped with the search.

They say the swimmer's body was found around 11:50 p.m., and they have been identified. The swimmer's name is being withheld until the family is contacted.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the case, according to the release. 

It comes only a few days after two people drowned in the Macon portions of the Ocmulgee River. One man drowned while swimming at the Macon Riverwalk and a teen drowned at Amerson River Park, the Bibb County Sheriff's Office said. 

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