A Gainesville man drowned Friday afternoon after he fell into the river above Oceana Falls in Tallulah Gorge while hiking.
Mark McKinnon with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said Exauce T. Kabeya, 19, of Gainesville, did not resurface after he fell into the water.
Georgia game wardens were notified of the incident at around 12:40 p.m.
Search efforts began using drones and rescue teams.
“A few hours later, the deceased victim was located and recovered from the water,” Mckinnon said in an email to AccessWDUN.
Agencies included in the search and recovery operation included Department of Natural Resources (DNR) – Law Enforcement and Aviation Unit and DNR Parks & Historic Sites, Rabun SAR/EMA, Rabun County EMS, Habersham County Emergency Services, Tallulah Falls Police, Tallulah Falls Fire-Rescue, Hall County Sheriff’s Office (Dive and UAS), GA DOC – LACI, Habersham County PIO, Rabun County Coroner’s Office, Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS), Georgia State Patrol (GSP) – Aviation and Georgia Power/North Georgia Hydro.
