Body of missing snorkeler found by kayaker after official search suspended

The body of a man who apparently drowned while snorkeling Wednesday in the Chattahoochee River near 11th Street and Bay Avenue was found Thursday near Bulldog Bait and Tackle on Victory Drive, authorities said.

Thomas Odom, 25, of Warner Robins, Ga., was pronounced dead at 8:45 p.m. at the boat launch at Bulldog Bait and Tackle. His body will be send to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab in Decatur.

The body was found by Josh Thomas of Smiths Station after he paddled about a mile down river and returned to Rotary Park just before 8 p.m. He couldn’t identify the body at first but realized it was a head bobbing in the water as he paddled about 200 yards from the boat dock.

“We thought it was a turtle or stump,” said Thomas who was on an outing with a friend. “As we got closer, we could tell what it was.”

The body was found about 30 minutes after recovery personnel suspended the second day of searching on the river, said Assistant Fire Chief Robert Futrell of the Columbus Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services. “I’m just glad for the family,” he said.

The body was about a mile down the river from the Bay Avenue location where bystanders saw the man in distress while snorkeling.

The search resumed Thursday morning with divers working in the river and multiple helicopters searching from the air.

The operation included water rescue personnel from throughout the Chattahoochee Valley under the direction of the Columbus Fire & EMS as well as the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Fort Benning.

The rescue squad worked from about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday until just before dark when the mission was suspended as Georgia Power increased water flow. The higher flow continued until about 9 Thursday morning.

Rescue workers responded to a call that a white male went under water near Bay Avenue and 11th Street and never surfaced. The man, who was part of a group from Warner Robins, Ga., that was here snorkeling, called for help before going under, witnesses said.

The search centered on the area of the river where the man was last seen. It is about 10 feet deep and has several large rocks, one half the size of a house, submerged just below the surface.

The Georgia DNR helicopter was working most of the morning in the general area the man was last seen.

A Fort Benning helicopter also worked the river Thursday morning. It was on a scheduled training mission, but diverted to help in the operation, Shores said.

Opelika Fire and Rescue Lt. Bryan Densel was part of the team working to find the victim.

“When you get into a recovery operation, as opposed to a rescue operation, the pace slows down considerably and one of the reasons for that is safety,” Densel said.

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 8:58 PM with the headline "Body of missing snorkeler found by kayaker after official search suspended."