BUFORD, Ga. -
Hall County divers who recovered the body of Griffin Prince from the murky waters of Lake Lanier spoke out for the first time on Thursday. The teen went missing after a terrible boating accident on June 18, which also killed his younger brother Jake. Divers who looked for Griffin described the nine-day search for the 13-year-old as both physically and emotionally draining.
The divers didn't do all of the work alone, but in the end, they were the ones who found Griffin's body. Sgt. Kelley Edwards, who commands the Hall County Sheriff's Office dive team, said it's the most difficult dive he's ever done. Sgt. Edwards said if you want to know what the conditions were like, you should imagine the darkest place you've ever been and make it a little darker-- and 44 degrees.
Sgt. Edwards told FOX 5 the divers would start every day out hopeful that they would find the boy that day, but when they didn't, it became hard to take. Many of the men on the team are also fathers, and that drove the tragedy home just a little harder. Sgt. Edwards said many of them started to wonder what they would do if their own child was missing.
On Thursday, the Prince family released a statement thanking the divers and the rest of the search crews for their bravery and hard work.
"We would like to thank all the wonderful men and women who worked nonstop to find him. We know you were all as emotionally invested in the recovery effort as we were," the Prince family said.
Sgt. Edwards says he and the rest of the divers are relieved that their hard work finally paid off for the sake of the family.
The Prince family wants the public to know that anyone who would like to help can make a donation to the Griffin and Jake Prince Memorial Fund at any metro Atlanta-area Wells Fargo Bank location.
