MACON, Ga. — The search is over for a 26-year-old drowning victim at Amerson River Park. He has been identified as Daniel Romain, a New Jersey native and an active member of the Air Force.
Coroner Leon Jones says he was found near the Spring Street Landing in Macon.
The Bibb County Sheriff's office says a 26-year-old man went under the water Sunday afternoon, and never came back up. Monday, a helicopter flew over the area, and for several hours, two boats searched the water.
Carl Duck said he often comes out to Amerson River Park to fish.
"I've pulled ten, twelve, fourteen pound bass," he said.
Sunday afternoon, he didn't expect to reel in something much heavier.
"I saw a group of four tubers coming and I said, 'Hey y'all are fixing to miss your exit," he said.
Duck says the group got stuck by a tree bank. He says he was able to help grab two of them out of the water, but the next was tricky. He used his water bottle to help pull out the next person.
"I stuck my hook and my weight down there and tightened it up and I shot it to him with my fishing pole," he said.
Duck says he successfully helped pull out that person, but coming around the bend was the 26-year-old.
"He was in a panic. It was tough because once we got the other guy, I swung out again but I couldn't even get close to him because the current was just so fast," he said.
He says Sunday night emergency crews worked hard to find him, but since they were unsuccessful he came back to check in on Monday.
"Just to know that it's still going on - it's emotional to me," he said.
Online comments also upset Duck.
"Everybody on social media is posting that they didn't have life jackets, they didn't have this, they didn't have that," Duck said. "They shouldn't have been swimming. They weren't swimming they were on rafts and they did all had life jackets on, but the current was so strong that when he went down it popped his life jacket off like it was nothing."
He says people online have compared Amerson River Park to Lake Lanier, which people shouldn't do.
According to the Department of Natural Resources, six people have drowned at Amerson River Park since 2021. This would mark the seventh. 25 people have drowned at Lake Lanier since 2021.
He says when you're in the river, you have to be extra cautious.
"When a rig gets so high that it's up to the caution point like that, you've got to be respectful of it," he said.
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