DAHLONEGA - The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now looking in to the death of a three-year-old boy that was found dead in a small, private pond in Lumpkin County just hours after he went missing.
Lumpkin County Sheriff's Lt. Wesley Burnett identified the child as Charles J. Lewis.
"The child has been taken to the GBI crime lab for an autopsy. The initial call on the investigation does appear to be drowning," said Burnett.
Burnett said deputies were called to a residence on Hemlock Trail off Highway 52 just before 9 a.m. by the little boy's mother. Burnett said he believed the mother had searched for the child for about 30 minutes before calling authorities. Burnett said Lewis left the home with two dogs, but the dogs returned home without him.
"We did search the area, and our canine units searched the area, but unfortunately, around one o'clock, we located the child in a nearby pond deceased," said Burnett.
As the investigation was going on, Burnett said authorities were not worried that the child had been abducted, but they were concerned about other factors.
"There obviously are hazards in the area that we're concerned about...one being the weather and a couple of bodies of water in the area that we're paying close attention to," said Burnett.
In addition to the Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office and Lumpkin County Fire/EMS, canine units from Dawson, Hall and White counties assisted with the search. The Georgia State Patrol, Forsyth County Dive Team and the Department of Natural Resources also assisted.
