Authorities have resumed a search for two teenagers who likely drowned in the waters of a swollen creek in Oconee County.
Units were on the scene Friday afternoon searching for the two teenagers who seemed to have fallen from a dam overlooking Barber Creek, according to a Facebook post by the Oconee County Sheriff's Office.
The incident is believed to have happened around 3:45 p.m. Friday. Recovery operations were postponed overnight. Recovery efforts were halted due to the water being too swift to put a boat or divers in, Lee Weems, Chief Deputy of the Oconee Sheriff’s office, told Channel 2 Action News.
The Oconee Sheriff’s Department continues to update the public with Facebook posts.
Swift water recovery teams from Oconee County, as well from Athens, Madison County, Rabun County, Walton County, Greene County, Putnam and others are helping with the recovery efforts.
The sheriff’s office said one of the teens, Bryant Wade, 18, of Madison County, apparently fell from the dam below an old Puritan rope mill into the creek. The second teen, Cameron Smith, 18, of Madison County, attempted to rescue him.
As the water comes over the dam, it creates a hydraulic flow and circles back underneath the dam. Weems told Channel 2 they likely got caught by the water, swept against the dam and were trapped there or went downstream and were caught on logs or something.
Wade’s family spoke to Channel 2 about the incident.
“This is an empty feeling,” Roger Smart, Wade’s grandfather, told Channel 2.
Zachary Hansen contributed to this article.
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