HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Cadaver dogs alerted to a dead body odor during Monday afternoon’s search for Griffin Prince, a teen that went overboard in a Lake Lanier boat crash.
On Tuesday, dogs were taken back out and confirmed the area again. Divers are now searching in a targeted, boxed area that is very close to where the crash happened, Department of Natural Resources Regional Supervisor Capt. Mark Padgett said.
About one week ago, Hall County authorities said a drunken boater slammed into Griffin’s family’s pontoon boat near Buford Dam at Shoal Creek, killing his 9-year-old brother Jake Prince. The body of 13-year-old Griffin has yet to be recovered after several days of searching.
Crews have been searching about a quarter square mile on Lake Lanier with sonar equipment. They had to scale back the search over the weekend because of heavy traffic on the lake. Monday morning, a specialized dive team with the FBI joined the effort.
A team of eight FBI divers spent the day in the lake with a high-tech 3-D sonar scanner and military-style diving equipment that allows divers to go down deeper and stay down longer.
Ten divers from the Hall County Sheriff's Office also scoured the lake for hours on Monday. Officials said fatigue is a factor, but it has not slowed them down.
Crews also received help from a Federal Emergency Management Agency search dog team.
The DNR said there are no plans to end the search until Griffin is found.
"We have not talked about a completion date. It's not even on our mind. We're going to go as long as we can go," DNR Regional Supervisor Capt. Mark Padgett said. "This extended longer than we wanted it to, obviously, but we got a family out there that's certainly grieving and, you know, they have two children lost and we're going to do the best we can to find them."
Among the survivors of the crash is the eldest brother, Ryan, who is 15. He is responsible for pulling the body of his brother, Jake, from the water.
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 Memorial 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.