Hall County, GA – The holiday rush to Lake Lanier got off to a deadly start Wednesday.A 45-year-old man was found dead on his boat and investigators said they suspect he was the victim of carbon monoxide poisoning.
According to police, the McDonough man docked his boat at the Holiday Marina Tuesday night.Investigators said the man turned the boat’s generator on to power the large cabin with electricity and then went to sleep.The man never woke up.
The incident caught even experienced Lake Lanier boaters off guard.
“Being overcome by carbon monoxide is something you rarely hear of,” said Reg Davis of the Houseboat Store.
Police suspect the man docked in the service area of the Holiday Marina Tuesday night planning to his boat worked on first thing Wednesday.
“He spent the night on the boat with the generator running,” said Major Jeff Strickland of the Hall County Sheriff’s Department.
Investigators said the generator was located underneath the cabin where the victim slept and powered the living area with electricity and air conditioning.
“Some time during the night, we feel he succumbed to the carbon monoxide poison,” said Major Strickland.
“In a cruiser, because of the confined space, the vapors can easily get in there,” said Davis.
Davis advised that it is important to ventilate a boat with a fan or by opening a window when using a generator.
Davis also said that many newer boats have the same type of carbon monoxide sensors commonly founding homes.
“Every room that has a bed has a detector and then also in your main room,” Davis said.
“Our detectives did discover a carbon monoxide detector on the boat and it had been activated,” Strickland said.
Investigators said they may never know why the man failed to get out in time.