Searchers Continue Looking for Drowning Victim

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The search continues for the missing swimmer who drowned in the Ocmulgee River Monday.

Friday marks day five of the search for 24-year-old Aaron Cross. Searchers spent all day looking from the air and combing the river for the body, but so far no luck.

“Its going about like it has all week long. its frustrating, its difficult, but we’re staying with it,” Sgt. Tony Fox with the Georgia Department of Nautral Resources said.

Searchers aren’t giving up until they find Cross. A DNR helicopter flew over the river to help with the search efforts, while officers continued dragging the river. It’s been days of searching with no results.

“Its not the best circumstances obviously and I would have hoped we would have wrapped this up sooner,” Fox said.

Another cadaver dog was used to help narrow down the search area. It picked up a scent near the bank and in the center of the river, but the current and cold temperatures made it hard to pin point an exact spot.

“What he’s done today is just give some light alerts, not real strong alerts,” Julianne Reid, a canine handler with Piedmont Georgia Region K-9 Search and Rescue, said.

The rising water, wind, and debris in the river also make finding the body a challenge.

“We’re consistently getting hung on the bottom hanging stumps, rocks, things of that nature,” Fox said. “We have to work the drags off of that. It zaps your energy and wears you out.”

But despite the difficulties, the searchers won’t stop looking until they bring Cross back to his family.

Searchers will continue looking until it gets dark. If they don’t find they body, they will be back out on the water Saturday morning. The warmer weather expected this weekend could help with the recovery efforts.