Man drowns trying to save confused father who walked off boat

A man has died trying to save his father who had walked off their boat, mistakenly thinking he was at home.

The two had been fishing at West Point Lake in the US state of Georgia on Sunday evening, according to Troup County Sheriff's Sergeant Stewart Smith.

They had tied up their boat for the night, falling asleep as it got late.

Sergeant Smith told The LaGrange Daily News that the father had woken up and thought he was home.

In his confusion he had walked off the edge of the boat thinking he was going to the bathroom.

The son, named by the newspaper as Jermiah Israel, 34, of Jonesboro, had jumped in the lake to rescue his father but did not resurface.

His father, 64, was rescued by people sailing nearby. He was taken to hospital but was well enough to return home.

Jermiah's body, however, was found in the lake on Monday morning.

Authorities said the drowning was being treated as accidental and is being investigated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.