State game wardens have charged a Mountain City man in the weekend death of a Gainesville firefighter killed in a boating accident on Lake Tugalo.
Kaplin Stacy Mitchell faces multiple charges, including first-degree homicide by vessel and boating under the influence under 21 years of age in the death of Chandler Patterson. The 27-year-old Patterson died Saturday after being hit by a bass boat officials say Mitchell was driving.
Mitchell was pulling Patterson and another person behind the boat on a tube when Patterson fell into the water, says DNR spokesperson Mark McKinnon. When Mitchell turned the boat around to pick him up, the boat hit Patterson, causing him to go under. Patterson was not wearing a life jacket.
Searchers spent more than eight hours over two days searching for the missing firefighter. DNR Game Wardens located him Sunday, and the dive team from Oconee County, South Carolina, recovered his body in 117 feet of water around 12:30 p.m.
Mitchell was arrested after the accident Saturday night and booked into the Rabun County Detention Center. His bond was set at $10,500, jail records show.
Initially charged with BUI, officials added the other charges after Patterson’s body was found. In addition, they charged Mitchell with towing a skier without a personal flotation device (PFD), operating a vessel with a greater than 25 HP engine on Lake Tugalo, operating a vessel with insufficient PFDs, and operating a vessel with expired registration.
McKinnon says the agency’s Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the accident. He says the investigation could take six to eight weeks to complete.
Colleagues mourn loss
Chandler Patterson was an EMT and firefighter who had served with the Gainesville Fire Department since June 2019. In a memorial posted to its Facebook page, the department said he was spending time off with his family and friends on the lake when the accident happened.
“Chandler was a super friendly person with an incredible personality!” the post states. “He brought smiles to everyone around him with his laid back and caring demeanor. He will be missed dearly!”
The fire stations in Gainesville have lowered their flags to half-staff in memory of Patterson, who his colleagues call “a great person, great firefighter and great friend!”
“We ask that you keep his family, and his fire family, in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Lake Tugalo is a 597-acre reservoir that sits on the Georgia/South Carolina border. It’s the fifth in a series of six lakes created by Georgia Power’s hydroelectric dams and is fed by the Tallulah and Chattooga rivers.
This article has been updated with additional information
