Divers returned to the waters of Lake Lanier Friday morning as the search continued for 13-year-old Griffin Prince, who has been missing since a Monday night boating accident that took the life of his younger brother Jake.
Authorities plan to suspend the search on Saturday and Sunday to give the dive teams a rest and to avoid increased weekend boat traffic on the popular lake that would make diving more hazardous.
Investigators, and the boys’ grieving family, were still looking for answers as more details began to emerge about what happened that night when a 21-foot Sea Fox fishing boat, piloted by a man later arrested for boating under the influence of alcohol, slammed nearly head-on into the Avalon pontoon boat. Both boys, along with 11 other people, were in the pontoon boat, and the boys' dad was driving.
A witness told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he and a friend were fishing on the lake around 10:35 p.m. Monday when they heard screams about 300 or 400 yards away and made their way to the scene. There, Phil Johnson said, he and his friend found the pilot of the fishing boat, Paul J. Bennett, 44, in the water, apparently unharmed, but, like the others, stunned.
“"He told us we needed to go to the pontoon boat, that they needed help," Johnson said. He said he could not tell whether Bennett was intoxicated.
"He was in shock," Johnson said. "Everyone was."
Johnson, a 58-year-old medical device salesman from Gainesville, said he's stricken by what he saw that night: "It was horrible. Just horrible. Seeing the pain those parents were going through. ... I'll never forget it."
He said the pontoon boat had significant damage to the right front. Some of the seats had been knocked out, but everyone was back on board, except 13-year-old Griffin Prince.
His parents, Mike and Tara Hansen Prince, were trying to revive his 9-year-old brother, Jake, who lay unconscious. He had been retrieved from the water by the Prince's oldest son, 15-year-old Ryan. Someone asked Johnson and Bryant if if they knew CPR. Johnson volunteered, but it was too late.
"He was pretty much gone," Johnson said.
As the family searched for the missing boy, Bennett, at some point, returned to his fishing boat, said Johnson. Johnson said he heard a "low, crying moan" from Bennett, then silence. "I can't describe to you how eerily quiet it was out there," Johnson said.
By roughly 11 p.m., that silence was shattered by a Georgia State Patrol helicopter hovering overheard. A few minutes later, according to Johnson, DNR rangers arrived. Around that time, Bennett left the scene, though he was there when the rangers arrived, Johnson said.
Around 11:45 p.m., when Johnson was leaving, the rangers were searching desperately for the missing boy. About two hours later Bennett was arrested in Bald Ridge Marina, in a cove on the other side of the lake.
Bennett, 44, who owns an upscale hair salon, Paul Bennett Studios, in Johns Creek, faces possible homicide charges, according to DNR Law Enforcement Section Maj. Stephen Adams. And he could also be charged with failure to render aid, said Adams. Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh said Thursday, "I can't say whether there will be additional charges, or what they will be" until the DNR has completed its investigation." He said a hearing is scheduled in state court August 15.
Many unknowns remain about the circumstances of the accident, including how fast the boats were traveling and who had the right of way. Darragh said he did not know how long it would take DNR to complete its investigation. Bennett could not be reached for comment Thursday. It's unclear if he has hired an attorney.
The Prince family declined comment when reached Thursday at the Grass Shack, a boat dealership they've owned and operated for two decades on Holiday Road in Buford. Business appeared to be slow. A wreath of yellow daises and white roses hung on a fence outside in remembrance of one son and likely two.
Divers looking for the missing teenager concentrated Thursday on depths of 120 feet, focusing on a half-mile wide area near the suspected site of the collision. Adding to that difficulty is the forest of trees beneath the surface. It’s possible divers won’t recover Prince’s body if it has sunk there, said Cpt. Mark Padgett of the DNR.
Mike Prince, the boys' grandfather, said Wednesday the only reason older brother Ryan didn't find Griffin the way he found Jake was because Griffin "wasn't wearing a life jacket."Georgia law requires only children under 10 to wear a life jacket. Prince wasn't on the boat but he talked with his son Mike Jr.
Padgett said authorities will determine whether to search over the weekend, when the high boating traffic could make conditions dangerous for the divers, who are already exhausted from the extensive search.
“It’s a pretty tough chore to do what they’re doing, especially at that depth," he said. In addition to the 10 boats that were on the water Thursday, a helicopter canvassed the lake for about three hours. DNR boats remained on the lake overnight searching with sonar equipment.
The Prince family has said it will schedule a memorial service once Griffin's body is recovered.
Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.
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