SOURCE: WALB

BEN HILL CO., GA  – The identity of a drowning victim who died during a fishing accident in a private pond the late afternoon of Wednesday, November 22, 2018, was released by the Ben Hill County Sheriff’s Office.

Joyce Morgan Hodge, 58, of Fitzgerald, has been identified as the victim, having drowned off of Sinclair Road after a vehicle went into a pond, according to Ben Hill County Sheriff Lee Cone.

Hodge, who was fishing with he sister at the time, attempted to prevent their car from rolling into the pond and was dragged into the water and died as a result.

Hodge’s sister went to flag down assistance. Hodge died by the time help arrived, according to officials from the Ben Hill County Sheriff’s Office.