Body Found In Allatoona Lake Identified as Missing Fisherman

CANTON, GA -- The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division has confirmed that the identity of the body recovered Sunday from Allatoona Lake is the man who was reported missing following a Feb. 2 fatal boat collision.

Mark McKinnon, spokesperson with the agency, said the body has been positively identified as Canton resident Ronnie Bentley, 66. Bentley was one of two men who were killed when two boats collided in the lake near Little River Marina on Bells Ferry Road just outside of Canton.

Bentley's official cause and manner of death, he added, will be determined by the medical examiner and the Critical Incident Reconstruction Team's investigation.

"The investigation will not be finished for approximately six more weeks," McKinnon told Patch.

Bentley's body was recovered close to the site of the accident, which was reported just before 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2 to Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services. One fisherman was rescued from the water, but two men remain unaccounted for following the collision.

After hours of searching, the body of James Mills, 51, of Taylorsville was discovered around 4 p.m. near the marina. Since recovering Mills' body, crews continued their quest to find Bentley's body.

McKinnon said the agency utilized sonar equipment during the first few days of the search, but that method turned up nothing.

After failing to turn up evidence of Bentley's whereabouts, officials scaled back the operation to shoreline and surface searches several times a day.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. Return to Patch for updates.

Image via Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services