At the time of the incident Bill was the point man when there was a reported drowning in Lake Lanier. There were no dive teams in the county and Banks' office would, when there was a report of a drowning, send a boat to the affected area - and his people would "drag" the lake looking for the body.
They used hooks on chains or ropes in hopes of snagging the body and bringing it to the surface.
Well, Bill's office got a call one Saturday afternoon to a cove off Cleveland Highway where a man who was swimming with friends had disappeared.
The people from his office dragged the lake until dark looking for this fellow - but to no avail and planned to return Sunday morning to resume the search.
I happened to be working that morning when about 7:45 the phone rang.
The guy on the other end was calling because he had heard that some folks thought he had drowned. I told him "yes" and explained to him what was going on.
Well, came the serious reply, I ain't dead and I'm in Athens.
He proceeded to tell me that he had swam around a point at the cove and gotten into a boat with some other friends.
Why didn't he tell his other friends he was leaving?
"We'll, I guess cause I was drunk and just didn't know what I was doing," he answered.
Needless to say I gave him Bill's phone number and told him he should probably call him right away.
He did - and almost everytime I saw Bill Banks after that he would smile and mention that story - although I'm sure at the time it was no laughing matter.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/7/129943