RedactedNarrative: On April 25, 2020, at approximately 1503 hours, I, Corporal (Cpl.) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA DNR) Law Enforcement Division, received a call from Cpl. (GA DNR). Cpl. told me that Monroe County had a drowning on the Ocmulgee River at the Highway 83 bridge. I began responding from High Falls State Park and contacted Sergeant (Sgt.) (GA DNR). Sgt. advised that he had received a call also and was told it was on the Ocmulgee River at Wise Creek. I changed my route and received information from Butts County 911 advising that two of the subjects were on Mt. Pleasant Road at Vickers Road in Butts County waiting for first responders. I contacted Lieutenant with GA DNR aviation and requested his assistance with the helicopter.
  
  	I arrived and contacted Operator2 and Operator4 along with Butts County Fire personnel. I cut the chain on the gate at the road to gain access to the river. I drove through a hunting club and arrived at the Ocmulgee River where I boarded a Monroe County Fire Department boat. The fireman took me to the other subjects, Operator5 and operator3. I spoke with the victims and asked them where they last saw the missing subject, identified as Operator1, go under the water. They pointed me to the area and, using a type IV PFD and an anchor with rope, I marked the spot for reference. Using the Pope’s Ferry Rescue vessel, I began to search the area with the side scan sonar.
  
  	The river conditions were hazardous due to high water volume and swift current. Approximately 20 yards up stream from the victim’s last sighting was a rock outcrop and logs on river right. According to the subjects, their kayaks had impacted the log and flipped some of them into the water. The water in this area was between 20 and 25 feet deep. The high water and swift currents formed a large eddy flowing clockwise back behind the rock outcrop.
  
  	Sgt1 arrived on scene with a DNR vessel and began searching the area with the side scan sonar. I moved onboard the DNR vessel with Sgt1. The extremely swift current and turbulent water under the surface caused the sonar display to look distorted in the area of interest. We attempted to search from different directions and paths but were unable to find any targets of interest. We deployed the body drag and continued to search the area. Lt. searched the area by helicopter. Game Warden First Class (GWFC) and Game Warden Cadet arrived and assisted with the search. I requested Butts County Sheriff Deputy to get written statements and identification from everyone at the boat ramp. The search was halted due to lose of daylight.
  
  	On Sunday, April 26, 2020, I resumed search efforts at 0630 hours with GA DNR Sgt1, GWFC, GWFC, GWFC and Cadet. Sgt1 contacted Georgia Power and arranged to have the dam upstream at Jackson Lake closed to lower the water levels in the river. Sgt1 established incident command at the Highway 83 bridge and I led the search efforts at the incident scene. A search was performed using body drags and side scan sonar. At approximately 1300 hours, Alpha Rescue arrived on scene with cadaver dogs to search the area. Dragging operations were halted during this time. The three dogs independently alerted in an area and we marked that as an area of interest. The Butts County dive team deployed three divers in the river and began searching the area of interest. They described the river bottom as a mix of silt and jagged rock with steep drops and holes. The search was unsuccessful, and the divers were removed from the water as the dam had reopened and the water was beginning to rise. Search efforts were halted due to lose of daylight.
  
  