On June 5, the Milledgeville Police Department (MPD) was dispatched to the Oconee River Greenway at about 7 p.m. in reference to two males struggling in the water. One subject was able to safely get out of the water, but a search began for the second person.
On June 6, the divers arrived and conducted a search until after sunset.
On June 7, the dive team returned to the Greenway to continue its recovery operations.
Alongside MPD, the Milledgeville Fire Department, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, Baldwin County Fire Rescue, Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency, Baldwin County Public Safety Drive, Navicent Health Emergency Medical Services, E-911, and the law enforcement division of Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources assisted with the search.
“They coordinated personnel, contacted Georgia Power, and took in emergency radio traffic and logs while continuing to answer unrelated 911 calls,” states the MPD Facebook page.
With the help of the Baldwin County Fire Department's sonar boat, an MPD drone, and Milledgeville Fire boats transporting divers, searchers were able to successfully locate the missing person at the bottom of the river.
“The divers were deployed, conducted an arc search, and found and recovered the individual around 13:15 (1:15 p.m. on June 7),” stated the Baldwin County Public Safety Drive Facebook page.
According to the MPD Facebook page, the family of the individual was notified, and the Oconee River Greenway was reopened June 7 after crews cleared the scene.