GA GA - Lam Ngoc Dang, 19, Gainesville/ Lake Lanier, 7 Sept 2016

[Ccosta1]

I need help looking for a young man named Lam ngoc dang. He has been missing since September 2016 and hasn’t turned up since. He was a UGA student in Georgia and went to campus. He went missing around lake Lanier. He is a family member of my boyfriend who’s name is also Lam Ngoc Dang so please don’t get them confused when you look them up the missing family member has a mole above his right eye.
Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. His mom has been very sad recently as it just passed the 4-5 year mark since he has gone missing.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-09-13/uga-

 

[Laughing]

Replay, a few more facts about the search:

Rangers, friends searching Lake Lanier for missing UGA student

Anyone know if authorities continued to search the lake? BTW that's a big reservoir!

@Ccosta1 , could you click Report in your post, and ask that a Moderator add the location & date of disappearance to the thread title?

 

[Ccosta1]

His brother said he does not know if the lake was continued to be searched after the sonar, but he said probably not. @Laughing

 

[Ccosta1]

Replay, a few more facts about the search:

Rangers, friends searching Lake Lanier for missing UGA student

Anyone know if authorities continued to search the lake? BTW that's a big reservoir!

@Ccosta1 , could you click Report in your post, and ask that a Moderator add the location & date of disappearance to the thread title?

I uploaded a picture of his last known whereabouts

 

[Ccosta1]

His brother said he does not know if the lake was continued to be searched after the sonar, but he said probably not. @Laughing

I also emailed the man who uploaded the information in Gwennith county to ask if anything else happened that he didn’t already mention. Hopefully he knows something... I know it’s been 4 years but im still trying.

 

[Lilibet]

I need help looking for a young man named Lam ngoc dang. He has been missing since September 2016 and hasn’t turned up since. He was a UGA student in Georgia and went to campus. He went missing around lake Lanier. He is a family member of my boyfriend who’s name is also Lam Ngoc Dang so please don’t get them confused when you look them up the missing family member has a mole above his right eye.
Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. His mom has been very sad recently as it just passed the 4-5 year mark since he has gone missing.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-09-13/uga-

I’m so sorry. He looks like a really friendly guy.

From your link:
“Dang’s deflated kayak was found at the other end of the Two Mile Island chain along with his duffel bag and car keys on Sunday. His car was located at Two Mile Creek Park.”

Apparently, he had the duffel bag and car keys in the kayak with him. Was the duffel bag wet, as if the kayak had sprung a leak? Or could he have pulled it ashore and deflated it? Was his ID/wallet in the duffel bag? Did he have a cell phone with him? Is he an experienced kayaker? Did he wear a life jacket? What does the family think? I assume it would be out of character for him to disappear and that there has been no activity on credit cards or bank withdrawals?

All that being said (or asked), it’s a very dangerous lake, partly because of hazards underwater, even for professional SAR divers. The area of the lake was once farmland, forest, and even a raceway before it was flooded to make a reservoir. Twenty-seven people who drowned have never been recovered, sadly.

Lake Lanier rescues | 11alive.com

 

[Ccosta1]

I’m so sorry. He looks like a really friendly guy.

From your link:
“Dang’s deflated kayak was found at the other end of the Two Mile Island chain along with his duffel bag and car keys on Sunday. His car was located at Two Mile Creek Park.”

Apparently, he had the duffel bag and car keys in the kayak with him. Was the duffel bag wet, as if the kayak had sprung a leak? Or could he have pulled it ashore and deflated it? Was his ID/wallet in the duffel bag? Did he have a cell phone with him? Is he an experienced kayaker? Did he wear a life jacket? What does the family think? I assume it would be out of character for him to disappear and that there has been no activity on credit cards or bank withdrawals?

All that being said (or asked), it’s a very dangerous lake, partly because of hazards underwater, even for professional SAR divers. The area of the lake was once farmland, forest, and even a raceway before it was flooded to make a reservoir. Twenty-seven people who drowned have never been recovered, sadly.

Lake Lanier rescues | 11alive.com

His phone and ID were in the car. And his bag with the keys were found in a bush not in the kayak. I would have to ask the family for more info when they wake up !!

 

[Ccosta1]

I’m so sorry. He looks like a really friendly guy.

From your link:
“Dang’s deflated kayak was found at the other end of the Two Mile Island chain along with his duffel bag and car keys on Sunday. His car was located at Two Mile Creek Park.”

Apparently, he had the duffel bag and car keys in the kayak with him. Was the duffel bag wet, as if the kayak had sprung a leak? Or could he have pulled it ashore and deflated it? Was his ID/wallet in the duffel bag? Did he have a cell phone with him? Is he an experienced kayaker? Did he wear a life jacket? What does the family think? I assume it would be out of character for him to disappear and that there has been no activity on credit cards or bank withdrawals?

All that being said (or asked), it’s a very dangerous lake, partly because of hazards underwater, even for professional SAR divers. The area of the lake was once farmland, forest, and even a raceway before it was flooded to make a reservoir. Twenty-seven people who drowned have never been recovered, sadly.

Lake Lanier rescues | 11alive.com

Also, I think the kayak was still intact no leaks and he has kayaked a couple times, but I don’t know if he was experienced. There are no card charges, transfers or anything.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I think his family needs to contact law enforcement about having him added to NamUs (namus.gov). Especially since it sounds at least possible he made it out of the water.

Did they provide things like DNA and dental records to law enforcement?

My heart goes out to them, and I truly hope they have answers soon.

 

[Ccosta1]

I asked his brother and he doesn’t know much about dental records and DNA but I will ask his other brother tomorrow and get back to you. I reached out earlier today to NamUs and am trying to currently add him to the database. @ChatteringBirds

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I asked his brother and he doesn’t know much about dental records and DNA but I will ask his other brother tomorrow and get back to you. I reached out earlier today to NamUs and am trying to currently add him to the database. @ChatteringBirds

It's very kind of you to help them in this way.

 

[Lilibet]

His phone and ID were in the car. And his bag with the keys were found in a bush not in the kayak. I would have to ask the family for more info when they wake up !!

The bag in a bush is encouraging. It sounds deliberate. But why? I looked at a map to try to get a sense of where his car was found in relationship to where the kayak and bag were found, but I got kind of lost. Do you have a map pinpointing the locations? If his car key was in the bag, he wouldn’t have planned to hike to his car and bring it there to load up the kayak.

Also, I think the kayak was still intact no leaks and he has kayaked a couple times, but I don’t know if he was experienced. There are no card charges, transfers or anything.

The kayak sounds like the air was let out of it deliberately, perhaps. I wonder why. Was the kayak found on land or in the water? Was it his kayak or did he rent or borrow it? Was he alone? Some kayaks hold two people. He just doesn’t seem to me like he would leave for a new life, but had he emptied his bank account prior to disappearing?

And again, what does his family think and what did officials tell them probably happened?

So many questions! I’m sorry. But it’s such an odd situation, one can’t automatically assume he drowned. You’re doing a very good job trying to get answers. His family is fortunate to have you as an advocate! My heart goes out to his poor Mom.

https://www.amazon.com/YKHOME-Infla...ocphy=9033109&hvtargid=pla-922409364624&psc=1

According to the fundraising page from Sept 2016, his family was very proactive trying to find him...

“Lam is a 19-year-old UGA student who has been missing since Wednesday, September 7th. This was the last time his friends and family heard from him. His family filed an official missing persons report on Friday, September 9th. The police, along with the family, began their search in Athens beginning that same day. On Saturday, the police found his car at Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. We believe that the purpose of his trip was to go kayaking, and since then, we have been able to find his duffle bag (with his car keys in it) and his kayak. However, his life vest has not been found. The police/rangers used helicopters and boats with sonar to search for him, with no leads or success in finding him. His family and friends have been organizing search parties the past couple of weeks hoping to find an answer, but no results arose.“

 

[Lilibet]

From another article...possibly before the duffel bag was found near the kayak in a bush...

Mark McKinnon, public affairs officer with the DNR, said the agency will continue looking for the student using a helicopter, sonar and ground searches. So far, the agency has no leads, and the search area is large. The kayak may have drifted far from Dang’s last location, he said.

“You can cover a lot of ground on a kayak in a short amount of time,” he said.
BBM

Missing UGA student’s kayak found on Lake Lanier

 

[Lilibet]

I’m confused about the different name used in this article...

According to Mark McKinnon, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division, there were no new leads or discoveries as of Tuesday morning in the search for Lam Dang Ma.
BBM

No new leads in missing UGA student case on Lake Lanier

 

[Lilibet]

His FB page.

Lam Dang Ma

 

[Lilibet]

Lots of detail in this article...AND makes clear that the kayak was inflated and in good condition when found and was upside down....his life jacket is missing....

Phi Long Nguyen, a friend of Ma, brought attention to the student’s disappearance and encouraged individuals to spread the word.

“The last time his family and I had contact with him was Wednesday afternoon,” Nguyen said. “He was supposed to be back with his family in Atlanta last night, but until now, he is nowhere to be found.”
<snip>

McKinnon said although finding Ma’s kayak was a major step in the investigation, it makes the search area much larger.

“It is also important to note that the kayak was an inflatable kayak, but the kayak was not inflated when we found it,” he said.

McKinnon later said he "probably meant to say not deflated" and said the kayak was inflated when authorities located it. "It was in good condition," he said. "There was no indication that it had been run over or anything had happened to it. It was in very good condition."
<snip>

Mathis is remaining positive that Lam will be found.

“His kayak was found upside down, but his dad bought him a life jacket, and it was missing as well,” Mathis said. “So that could be good news. Maybe he’s wearing the life jacket.”

BBM
BREAKING: Search for missing UGA student underway near Lake Lanier

 

[Lilibet]

After reading on another forum about how risky Lake Lanier is for kayakers because of the wake caused by speeding power boats, I googled for more information. Bottom line, it’s a very dangerous lake.

“Witnesses attest to risky and illegal actions by motor boaters that endanger those wielding oars or paddles. High powered boats have been seen blazing a course up the Chattahoochee River during a regatta, their pilots seemingly nebulous to rowboats racing down the channel. Odell recounted a flotilla of jet ski riders spreading across the course, flipping eight kayaks performing speed drills. And then, he said, there are boaters testing their engines by cutting donuts right off the ramp in the no wake zone.”
BBM

Courtesy, education key to sharing the lake

Fun and danger await at Georgia lake

Drowning danger on Lake Lanier

Boating on Lake Lanier – The Lake Lanier Visitors Guide

 

[Ccosta1]

After reading on another forum about how risky Lake Lanier is for kayakers because of the wake caused by speeding power boats, I googled for more information. Bottom line, it’s a very dangerous lake.

“Witnesses attest to risky and illegal actions by motor boaters that endanger those wielding oars or paddles. High powered boats have been seen blazing a course up the Chattahoochee River during a regatta, their pilots seemingly nebulous to rowboats racing down the channel. Odell recounted a flotilla of jet ski riders spreading across the course, flipping eight kayaks performing speed drills. And then, he said, there are boaters testing their engines by cutting donuts right off the ramp in the no wake zone.”
BBM

Courtesy, education key to sharing the lake

Fun and danger await at Georgia lake

Drowning danger on Lake Lanier

Boating on Lake Lanier – The Lake Lanier Visitors Guide

Alright... it’s hard to answer all these questions so so far I have just compiled a small timeline. His brother said he would create a Websleuths’s account and comment on here as well but until then here is a small timeline.
-last heard from on Wednesday September 7th
-family filed a missing persons on September 9th, they began a search the same day
-on Saturday police found his car at the beginning of two mile creek park on lake Lanier Gainesville, Georgia. With his phone and some other stuff in it(not sure how much stuff)
-they then found his duffel bag with his car keys inside it, in a bush... not sure where, maybe his brother can answer this one to give you a sense on location.
-on Sunday they found his kayak at the end of two mile creek park inflated and in good condition turned upside down maybe behind someone’s yard. When asked about it some people said it was their kayak until we said it was a missing persons kayak. Those people were not further questioned... ( a little ominous if you ask me) his life vest was not found .. (maybe he was wearing it.)
-police then used boats with sonar to search for him with no leads.
-his family continued search parties for a couple of weeks but with no luck.

Looking at it all together like this is very strange. Just why was his bag in a bush? Was he trying to hide it? Or was someone trying to hide it? And why did he leave his phone in the car? Did he just not want to get it wet? And it’s a bit strange he hasn’t made a bank withdrawal if he did run away. If the lake is that dangerous how come the INFLATABLE kayak was still in very good condition and still inflated when found. Also why was it upside down? Was it upside down because someone carried it back to shore ? It has been so many years it’s hard to remember some things as well. I’m sorry if I can’t help much. Maybe his brother may be able to help later.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

So the kayak was not found in the water? Does the family and LE believe they found out the truth about where and how the people who had it found it?

I guess he has 2 different names he uses?

This situation is very hard to fathom. I truly hope his family gets answers.

 

[Ccosta1]

So the kayak was not found in the water? Does the family and LE believe they found out the truth about where and how the people who had it found it?

I guess he has 2 different names he uses?

This situation is very hard to fathom. I truly hope his family gets answers.

Strangely yes he uses two names, I’m guessing to not get mixed up with his brother. But yes the two names are, lam ngoc dang and lam dang ma.

the kayak was found out of the water. And no not that we know of regarding who the people were and why they had it. I’m assuming they may have seen it floating and thought to themselves “oh free kayak” and decided to keep it. That may have been a reason it was far from where he might have been?