Official: Georgia Power held back water until nightfall, search resumes Thursday

After almost seven hours in the Chattahoochee River, divers with the Columbus Department of Fire & Emergency Medical Services suspended their search south of 11th Street and Bay Avenue at nightfall Wednesday for a man who may have drowned.

Assistant Chief Robert Futrell said Georgia Power held water back to allow divers to search longer Wednesday evening but officials must release more water on Thursday. More water will increase the current and make it difficult for divers searching for the man who was in snorkeling gear.

Furell said divers will return to the Chattahoochee River just after 9 a.m. when the generating stops to resume their search.

The rescue squad had been on the river since 2:23 p.m. when the call went out, said Fire Marshal Ricky Shores. “Someone said they saw a white male go under and never come up on the river below Bay Avenue and 11th Street,” Shores said.

Sandra Hill said she and a co-worker were walking along the Chattahoochee RiverWalk during their lunch break when a youth ran up to her and said someone was drowning. Hill said she then ran to the edge of the water and saw a snorkeler who appeared to be in distress.

“He was screaming,” Hill said of the man who was visible from his neck up.

Hill said she immediately called 911. She never saw the man resurface again.

Hill said she has never seen a person in distress like that in the water. Before he went down the last time, Hill said a woman using a paddleboard was within a few feet of the man before he disappeared.

Dan Gilbert, owner of Whitewater Express, also said someone went missing while snorkeling in the calm part of the river just below the zip line that runs from Columbus to Phenix City.

“Someone apparently heard a call for help,” he said.

Gilbert has been in communication with his raft guides working the river. The person involved was not an employee or customer of Whitewater Express.

A section of the Riverwalk south of 11th and Bay remained blocked with yellow tape as divers searched the area.

The Ledger-Enquirer will report additional details as they become available at ledger-enquirer.com.

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 9:41 PM with the headline "Official: Georgia Power held back water until nightfall, search resumes Thursday."