The University of Georgia on Thursday responded to the death of one of its students who went missing during a rafting trip and was later found dead in Wyoming, officials said.
“The University of Georgia is deeply saddened by the tragic death of a student member of our community, Oliver Woodward,” UGA spokesman Greg Trevor said. “We extend our sincere sympathy, thoughts and prayers to the Woodward family in this time of need.”
Woodward’s body was recovered by Star Valley Search and Rescue about 10 a.m. Wednesday from a river in Lincoln County, Wyo., Teton County sheriff’s spokeswoman Riclyn Betsinger said.
Authorities identified Woodward through dental records, Betsinger said.
The 21-year-old rising senior was thrown from a raft on the Snake River on the Fourth of July, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
His mother, Julia Woodward, told the Union Recorder that Oliver graduated from Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta.
He had been living in Jackson, Wyo., for the summer, Teton County sheriff’s Sgt. Lloyd Funk said.
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 told a Wyoming newspaper.
None of the rafters had on a life jacket, he said.
Responding officers eventually found the other rafter in good health.
Woodward's death was due to accidental drowning, according to Lincoln County Deputy Coroner Maryanne Christensen.
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