The cry went up Friday afternoon at the Oconee County watering hole known as Redneck Beach: Someone’s drowning.
Bryant Wade had been walking along the dam when he tumbled into rain-swollen Barber Creek below. On the shore, a popular hangout spot for students from the nearby University of Georgia, Cameron Smith told his friend to call 911 and then plunged into the rushing water to help.
It was the last time either of the teens would be seen alive. After a massive search that spanned five days, rescuers on Tuesday morning found the bodies of Wade and Smith in McNutt Creek, downstream from where they had gone into the water. One of the young men was trapped under logs. The other was about 75 yards away, partially buried under an unknown object. It took several hours and the help of forestry officials to get him out, officials said.
Both were 18 years old and recent high school graduates. They had never met.
Roughly 200 people — some from local and state agencies, others who were volunteers — took part in the search, which stretched to the Middle Oconee River. Helicopters scanned the waterways from the air. Divers scoured the creek.
The recovery efforts were hampered by churning, high waters fueled by heavy rains. Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said the creek had dropped dramatically in recent days, making it possible to finally spot the bodies. They reported the water had been moving at around 3,000 cubic feet per second, when the average is usually 200 cubic feet per second.
A statement released by the Smith family before his body was located praised his bravery.
“Without hesitation (Cameron) instructed his friend to call 911 and stay safely on solid ground as he jumped in to try to save Bryant. Cameron is truly a hero,” it said.
Wade’s Facebook page showed that he lived in Bogart, attended North Oconee High School and seemed to have a love of pickup trucks.
Smith’s account said he was from Comer and worked at the Wayne Farms chicken plant.
“He’s a country boy,” family friend Terri Sheridan told The Athens Banner-Herald.
The families of the young men declined to speak to the media on Tuesday and J. Lee Weems, chief deputy with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, said they wanted privacy.
Weems said searchers had grown close to the family members, who had been holding out hope that the young men would turn up on the creek banks.
“Seeing the pain on the families’ faces is hard,” Weems said.
