Frantic calls to 911 made just moments after Monday's crash confirm witness claims of long response times.

Channel 2's Aaron Diamant obtained all eight 911 calls following the crash. Two of them came from people on the boats involved.

The calls show the victims of Monday night's boat crash waited in fear for nearly 40 minutes before rescue crews arrived.

"Hang on, we're trying to figure out where you're at," the 911 operator said as a frantic call from the Prince family's pontoon came in just seconds after the crash, which had Hall County dispatchers scrambling to figure out exactly where it happened.

"All right, we've got the helicopter in the air, we're all trying to find you, baby, hang on with me, OK?" the operator said.

Dispatchers zeroed in on the crash site within 10 minutes. It took, rescue boats about another 30 to get there.

"It's just takes a while for them to get to you, honey, I'm sorry," the operator said.

And as crews still search for the body of Griffin Prince, the Department of Natural Resources admits emergency response times like that aren't unusual on Lake Lanier.

"Our staff is not what it was in years past due to some cutbacks," DNR Sgt. Lee Brown said.

The DNR has around 10 rangers assigned to the 58 square-mile lake with 600 miles of shoreline, which means it can take a while before rescue crews begin looking for those in need at night.

"We've got to get people in if they're not already out on the water. They've got to get to their craft. They've got to get it in the water," Maj. Woodrow Tripp with Hall County Sheriff's Office said.

"Did you have any idea that it can take that long," Diamant asked Brown.

"I had no idea," Brown said.

And boaters like Michelle Brown, no relation, found those potential response times unnerving.

"You're in a crisis situation, 40 minutes is a long time, especially when you have children involved," Michelle Brown said.

First responders said weather, rough water and boat traffic can also slow them down.

It's why DNR rangers are always urging Lake Lanier boaters to be extremely cautious because the reality is even if you do need help it can take a while to get there.


A new tool arrives

Late Friday afternoon, a new search tool arrived from California to aide in the search for Griffin Prince.

Robert Estrada told Channel 2's Dave Huddleston that he called his friend in San Diego to have him ship an underwater robotic camera here to help with the search.

The equipment will be able to stay underwater for hours.

Many of the divers can only stay in the water for about 5 minutes after diving to about 100 feet.

"I guess you can say it's like a mini submarine that's got a camera and claws," Estrada said.

The equipment is called an ROV or a remote operating vehicle.

Estrada said he called a friend in San Diego to rush the ROV to Lake Lanier so local rescue crews could use it to find the body of Griffin Prince.

"I'm just hoping it speeds the process up," Estrada said.

Estrada told Huddleston you control the ROV on the surface while it scoots along the lakes bottom. He said he wanted to bring closure for the Prince family.

"I just wanted to help out," Estrada said.

He's hoping the ROV can see what the divers can't.

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"This thing has several halogen lights on it, it can probably only see maybe 3 or 4 feet in front of it, and that's better than a diver can see," Estrada said.

Divers from Hall and Cobb County have been searching the lake for days now, wrapping up the operation around 4 p.m. Friday.

The ROV can go for hours. Maj. Woodrow Tripp from Hall County said this will give his divers the rest they need, but the search for Griffin will continue.

"At this point we're willing to explore every possibility to see if we can bring this to a successful end," Tripp said.

Even though the divers have wrapped up for the evening the DNR will increase their presence, bringing rangers from the around the state to patrol and search using boats and sonar.

Everyone is expected to be back at the lake at 7 a.m. Monday to continue the search.

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Memorial fund

A memorial fund has been set up for the Prince children. If you would like to help, you can make a donation to the Jake & Griffin Prince Memorail Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank location. The account number for the fund is 7581668121.

A memorial Facebook page has also been set up in honor of the two boys.

A Griffin and Jake Prince Memorial Fund has also been set up to help the family with burial and funeral expenses. Donations can now be made via PayPal to the address GriffinAndJakePrince@gmail.com.

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