Police Identify Body Found in Chattahoochee River

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Police have identified the young man pulled from the Chattahoochee River in East Cobb late Saturday morning.

The body of Devon Gary Harvest, 20, of Milton was recovered from the river near the Fulton County line, Cobb police spokesperson Dana Pierce said.

A 911 call was made Friday evening by the male acquaintance of the victim, who reported Harvest missing from the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area near 5690 Lower Roswell Road in East Cobb.

The Cobb County Emergency Communications Center dispatched officers and personnel from the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services and its Swift Water Rescue Team to the area of Gold Branch Park.

After searching the area across from the park and very near the rock cliffs on the Fulton County side of the river, the Swift Water Team suspended operations late Friday evening due to darkness.

On Saturday morning, authorities from the National Parks Service, Department of Natural Resources, Cobb County Fire’s Swift Water Rescue Team and Cobb police’s Underwater Search and Recovery Team resumed search efforts in the immediate area where the caller reported the victim missing.

Harvest’s body was recovered around 11:15 a.m., Pierce stated.

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Harvest and his friend tried to swim 250 yards from the river’s banks in Cobb near Morgan Falls in Sandy Springs.

They were trying to swim across the Chattahoochee ”so they could jump from the rocky outcrops of the Palisades” in the national recreation area, the AJC reported.

The duo were just five yards from the shore when around 7:20 p.m., Harvest “just gave out,” Pierce told the AJC.

The other male swimmer initially was able to grab and hold onto Harvest, but could not hang on, the newspaper said.

The Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to determine the official cause of his death.

Return to Patch for updates.

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Image via Shutterstock