Officials in Wyoming have scaled back the search for a University of Georgia rising senior who went missing after he was thrown from a raft on the Snake River on the Fourth of July.

“It is with a heavy heart that we move to the next stage of this event,” Teton County sheriff’s Sgt. Lloyd Funk said in a statement.

Oliver Woodward, 21, was last seen Tuesday evening in the river canyon, Funk said. He grew up in metro Atlanta, according to Channel 2 Action News.

Woodward and another rafter, who were in a group of six, were thrown when the raft went through rapids known as King’s Wave, Funk said.

None of the rafters had on a life jacket, Funk told a Wyoming newspaper.

Responding officers eventually found the other rafter in good health.

While officials have scaled back the search for Woodward, missing-person fliers will still be handed out, and river users will be asked to be observant, according to the sheriff’s office.

At UGA, where Woodward is a real estate major, officials said they “continue to wait and hope for good news” and “stand ready to assist in any way we can.”

In a statement, a spokesman said the university’s “thoughts and prayers are with Oliver, his family and his friends.”

In other news:

The homeowners and builder both blame each other for the water damage.

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The Thanksgiving air travel period is on as passengers made their way through the airport Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. Traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport during the holidays can be an ordeal. Parking shortages could disrupt your plans and security waits can be long during busy periods, causing bottlenecks. Hartsfield-Jackson is advising travelers to get to the airport at least 2½ hours before their domestic flight and at least 3 hours before their international flight. (John Spink/AJC)

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