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Monroe County Sheriff's Office says High Falls rescue cost thousands

The county says all the rescue efforts cost tens and thousands of dollars.

MACON — Two teenagers are lucky to be alive after being rescued from High Falls State Park this week. 13WMAZ spoke to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office to break down how much this cost taxpayers.

You can't help but hear the roaring sound of water at High Falls Park in Monroe County the same sound that 2 teens heard after being rescued from the lake. Greg Rhodes and his wife are on vacation and say they saw the teens before they were rescued.

"5:30 or so, we were walking back across the bridge, and my wife said, 'It looks like there are some people out there,'" Rhodes said.

Rhodes quickly pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.

Rhodes says he is happy the teens are fine, but does not understand why they went into the lake.

"There are signs all over that say, 'Do not go in the water.' It's dangerous -- people die, so?" Rhodes said.

According to Lieutenant Lawson Bittick, 5 agencies responded to rescuing those two teens. Bittick says he is thankful they are OK, but it came at a very expensive price.

"Probably in the tens of thousands -- by the time we're done with it, if you count salary, probably in the tens of thousands," Bittick said.

According to Bittick, the helicopter that was sent in from Atlanta could not complete the rescue due to the weather, so the Macon dive team had to save the 2 teens. Bittick says this should serve as a serious warning because they are not able to rescue everybody.

"We found out from when the young man was killed there, are actually holes that, if you are not familiar with that area, you will drop down in those holes and spin around and you could go unconscious," Bittick says.

We reached out to the Bibb County Fire Department and the DNR, but they did not have a set amount of how much their efforts cost.

According to Bittick, based on the district attorney's decision the Monroe County Sheriff's Office may pursue charges also, and Captain Chris Hodges with the DNR said no charges have been filed, but says the investigation is still ongoing.

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