BRUNSWICK, Ga. – The body of a 39-year-old Brunswick man who into the Altamaha River Wednesday afternoon to rescue a dog was found Saturday morning.
Georgia Department of Natural resources tells News4Jax the body of Michael Shreve, 39 was found about a half mile down stream where he was seen jumping in on Wednesday.
Glynn County Emergency Management and the Georgia DNR, used boats and side-scan sonar, searched the fast-moving water near Altamaha Regional Park, where signs warn visitors not to swim because of strong currents.
"We dragged that area, and it's just not panning out to what we hoped it might be," DNR Sgt. Mark Carson said. "There's a full tree underwater, many limbs, trash, garbage. We are pulling up all kinds of fishing lines. It's a messy bottom."
The search area was expanded Friday to 1 to 2 miles down the river.
DNR hoped to have a helicopter assist Thursday, but the weather didn't cooperate.
"For divers' safety, we are not putting anyone in the water," Carson said. "They don't feel comfortable, and if they don't, we wouldn't put them in the water."
Donna Knight, who saw Shreve trying to rescue the dog works at a small shop near the docks in the park, said everything happened very quickly Wednesday afternoon.
“When I got over here, he was almost to the dog. He grabbed the dog, then he quickly let go. Real quick. Then he started hollering for help, and you could tell by that time he was struggling,” Donna Knight said. “It was quick. He was not far down at all, maybe 50 feet, but he went 50 feet in seconds.”
Late afternoon Wednesday, officers and a chaplain notified Shreve's wife they believed he had drowned.
Knight said it was a tragic situation.
“It's just sad. I hate it for his family and for him. He was just there, and in a matter of minutes, he was gone, just gone,” Knight said. “He was just enjoying the river, and then a dog comes floating by, and he was trying to save it.”
There was no sign of the dog in the search.
The river is about 6 feet higher than normal right now, making the current stronger than it usually is.
The park is a popular spot for people to have lunch and relax along the river, but officials said that nobody should ever get in the water without a life jacket. They don't believe Shreve was wearing one when he went in after the dog.