Man electrocuted after jumping into haunted Lake Lanier

On Thursday afternoon Thomas Milner, 24, jumped into Lake Lanier from his family's dock near Lanier Beach South Road. It was reported he was seen jumping into the lake by a family friend, and when he did not emerge, he went and tried to pull Milner out of the water using a ladder and was unsuccessful.

The friend took a boat out on the water where they saw Milner, and when the friend touched the water, they reported a burning sensation in the water and realized it was an electrical shock, and they were unsure from where. They said they went back to shore and switched off an electrical power box, allowing them to pull Milner out of the water.

Unfortunately, CPR attempts were unsuccessful, and he was taken to Northside Forsyth Hospital. Unfortunately, he passed. No further information has been released, and it is an ongoing investigation.

Lake Lanier is an artificial reservoir located near Gainesville, in Northern Georgia. And this is not the first time a death has occurred in the lake.

Lake Lanier has a reputation as one of the deadliest bodies of water in the United States, with over 700 reported deaths since it opened in 1956. Lake Lanier has a haunted history that dates back to when the lake was constructed in the 1950s.

History of Lake Lanier

Where Lake Lanier now lies was once a town, Oscarville, home to Black Americans; however, in 1912, the body of 18-year-old Mae Crow was found raped and murdered. She was found in the woods near Oscarville.

Four young black men who lived nearby were accused of the rape and murder, Oscar and Trussie Daniel, siblings 18 and 22, their cousin Ernest Knox, 16, and Robert Edwards, 24. Edwards was eventually arrested for the rape and murder and taken to jail in Cumming, Georgia.

After Edwards was arrested, a white mob invaded his jail cell, and he was shot, dragged through the streets, and hanged from a telephone pole outside the courthouse. A month later, Ernest Knox and Oscar Daniel were brought to court and found guilty of the murder, and were hanged. Trussie was dismissed.

After the lynching of Edwards, a group known as the Knight Riders began to terrorize the town. Riding through town, burning down black businesses and churches and demanding they leave. Many did flee, and even now, less than 5% of Forsyth County is black.

Once white families and government ownership seized Oscarville, it was decided that it would be the new area for a lake to be built in 1956. Upon the creation of the lake, at least 250 families and 15 businesses were displaced as well as they promised to move grave sites; it is said that the army did relocate 20 cemeteries, but it is believed that not all the graves and unmarked graves were removed, and remain beneath the lake.

When the dam was built, it flooded any remnants of Oscarville, which created rumors that the lake was haunted by either the history of Oscarville or those buried under it.

The legend of supernatural activity began only two years after the creation of Lake Lanier. The first tragedy of the lake was in 1958 when two women, Susie and Delia, went over a bridge and into the water.

A year later, a fisherman discovered a woman's body, without hands, in a blue dress. Her identity was never confirmed, and sightings of a ghost dressed in a blue dress gave her the name of ¨Lady of the Lake¨. There are reports that she tries to lure victims into the murky waters.

The Lady of the Lake mystery continued until 1990 when construction workers discovered a 1958 Ford sedan 30 meters deep in the lake. The remains in the car were identified as Susie, which led authorities to believe the remains found prior in 1958 were Delia.

Many have reported that the lake has an eery feel and is cursed by history. However, many say that the number of drownings and disappearances is due to the structures under the lake, and possibly many get caught up in telephone poles, trees, or the mysteries within the murky waters.

Some even say the lake feels like molasses and pulls you down.

However, over 27 lake victims have never been found, and now the lake is electric; who knows how this happened, and if it is supernatural, cursed, or if there is a logical explanation. We do not see what haunts the waters beneath, supernatural or not, but it is still a tragic loss of a young man.