Officials from Clarke and Oconee counties are searching for two 18-year-olds they believe might have drowned at the Falls of Oconee.
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 and were restarted Saturday morning.
"At this point it's most likely, unfortunately, a recovery,” Lee Weems, Chief Deputy of the Oconee Sheriff’s office, told Channel 2 Action News.
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 come 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.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Wade’s family spoke to Channel 2 about the incident.
“This is an empty feeling,” Roger Smart, Wade’s grandfather, told Channel 2.
Smart called Smith a hero for trying to save his grandson.
“Just heroic,” Smart said. “I feel for him and his family.”
The land is on private property, and the Sheriff’s office said the teens must have jumped a fence and avoided a patrolling security guard.
Recovery efforts were halted due to the water being too swift to put a boat or divers in, Weems told Channel 2.
“The water in the creek is at critically high levels due to the incessant rain we have had and is swift, deep and extremely dangerous not only to visitors but to rescue crews,” the post said.
There was a security guard who tried to go in and help, but she was caught in the current and had to be rescued by emergency officials, Weems told the news station.
The water has receded significantly from Friday afternoon, Scott Berry, a spokesman for the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, said to Channel 2.
"The creek has dropped about four feet, so it's a little safer than it was last night," Berry said. "We're still doing the best we can to get these two young men out of the river."
— Please return to AJC.com for updates.
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