HARRIS COUNTY, Ga. — A kayaking trip on a Georgia creek ended in tragedy for an Alabama family.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources confirmed that a father and 2-year-old drowned in Flat Shoals Creek on the Harris-Troup county line Saturday.
The Harris County Coroner’s Office said that a family of five were in four kayaks with the 2-year-old riding with her father.
The family encountered rough water, which flipped their kayaks over. The mother and two oldest children made it to safety, but the other family members did not resurface.
Georgia DNR assisted the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies with search-and-rescue efforts. They found the 2-year-old and transported her to a hospital, where she died. Crews later found her father’s body in the creek.
Harris County Coroner Joe Weldon confirmed the victims’ names as 2-year-old Xelora Davis and 34-year-old Timothy Davis from Lannett, Ala.
Weldon said the mother and children were wearing their life vests at the time of the accident. Georgia DNR said the creek was “up significantly” from the heavy rain last week.