GBI: Alabama man’s drowning death ruled accidental

Investigators say alcohol contributed to the death of an Alabama man who drowned in June while visiting Helen, Georgia.

42-year-old Gary Phillip Freeman, Jr. was found submerged in the Chattahoochee River on the morning of June 29. Autopsy results reveal his death was caused by “drowning associated with acute alcohol intoxication”, according to the GBI.

Freeman’s death has been ruled accidental.

Freeman, of Troy, Alabama, was a businessman and former US Army Print Journalist. A tourist found his body in a section of river off Brucken Strasse on the east side of town.

The Helen Police Department asked the GBI to assist in the investigation. GBI spokesperson Nelly Miles says the case is not closed.

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