Teams use high-tech camera in third day of searching for father, 4-year-old son

With clear skies and better visibility in the Chattahoochee River, crews searched for a missing man and his 4-year-old son until nightfall Friday but were unable to recover the victims.

About 20 rescue personnel from the Columbus Fire and Emergency Medical Services and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources used a high-tech camera attached to a pole during their third day of recovery efforts south of the Lake Oliver Dam, said Battalion Chief Bryan Watson. The camera equipment was provided by Georgia Power.

Personnel have been on the river since a 911 call about a man and his son who disappeared about 6:06 p.m. Wednesday at 5501 River Road. The search includes five divers in the water, several boats with sonar and other electronic devices working the surface and a DNR helicopter out of Atlanta searching from the air.

The search area is near the Oliver Dam, north of the North Highlands Dam in area that is known as Bibb Pond because of its proximity to Bibb City.

Watson said state and local personnel remain hopeful . “We want to find them,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to find them. The Georgia DNR is outstanding. All their resources they can bring are here and all Columbus Fire and EMS resources are here. Everything we got we got on the water with the manpower.”

The teams are still concentrating their search in the same general area but moving out every time. Watson noted there is trash in the north end near the dam. “We very well could go over the top and miss something,” he said. “We are moving out farther every time and moving a little further west.”

Visibility in the water improved from about 18 inches Thursday to 3 feet on Friday. “They can see a little further,” he said. “That’s still not a long way.”

Sgt. Jeremy Bolen of the DNR said the aircraft will remain in the air during the search. Bolen said he was aboard Friday for a search from Lake Oliver south to the zip line near the Dillingham Street Bridge. “He can cover it a lot faster from the air than we can,” he said of the helicopter.

The overnight rain has caused some issues, Watson said. Divers had to stop for about an hour to allow Georgia Power to release some water. “We are kind of at Georgia Power mercy on water because it gets to the point it’s dangerous,” he said. “They give us plenty of notice to get our guys out.”

Georgia Power Company controls the flow from the Oliver Dam, which is about 250 yards north of where the search is centered. The river was at a normal high flow of about 8,000 cubic feet per second Wednesday night when the boy fell into the water and his father attempted to save him.

They were fishing from the Georgia bank in a rocky area of the river where fishing is permitted. Neither was wearing a life jacket, Watson said. Witnesses told law enforcement that they unsuccessfully tried to rescue them.

Rescue workers spent about nine hours searching the water and riverbank on Thursday as Georgia Power restricted the flow from the dam. It is not safe for divers to be in the water when dam gates are open and Georgia Power in generating electricity, Watson said.

Water temperature, which is about 57 degrees on the surface and colder in the deeper parts of the river, is also causing some issues, Watson said.

“Any time you are dealing with colder water, it is going to complicate things,” Watson said. “Any time your divers are uncomfortable, you are constantly having to bring them up and get them out of the water for a few minutes to warm them up.”

Officials have not released the names of the father and son.

This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Teams use high-tech camera in third day of searching for father, 4-year-old son."