At 11:19 a.m. the Milledgeville Police Department dispatched patrol units to the Oconee River Greenway after a witness called in a male subject walking down the boat ramp into the water and not resurfacing.
“Our units arrived on scene about two minutes after the 911 call,” said Milledgeville Police Department Patrol Commander Major Linc Boyer. “The flood gate was open, so the water level was high. It came to the top of the parking lot, where the boating ramp was.”
According to Boyer, when they arrived on scene Sgt. Richie Davidson was able to look down from the higher side of the bank to locate what they assumed to be the man. Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Brandon Towe went into the water and retrieved him.
“They started CPR immediately and Navicent Health EMS shortly arrived on scene and transported the male to Navicent Health Baldwin,” said Boyer. “They worked on him at the hospital for 45 minutes to an hour.”
Boyer identified the victim as local 65-year-old Stevie Kelsey, who was originally from Wilkinson County but had resided on South Jefferson Street in Milledgeville for some time. According to Baldwin County Coroner John Gonzalez, Kelsey was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival to the hospital and the cause of death was determined to be drowning. Gonzalez stated no autopsy would be performed.
“We’ve spoken to the family and examined some things, but we cannot prove one way or the other whether it was an intentional act or an accident,” said Boyer. “We are done with our investigation, and it has ultimately been ruled as a drowning.”