Wisconsin-based expert to join Lake Oconee search for missing boater

Since then, the Putnam County Sheriff‘s Office, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and numerous volunteers have scoured the deep east Georgia lake for Jones. On Sunday, Sheriff Howard Sills announced officials would halt the daily use of cadaver dogs and divers but continue regular shoreline searches.

Now, Cormican is bringing his years of expertise and specialized gear to inspect the hidden depths of the lake’s submerged forest.

“People, they just feel better, even if they don’t find them, they feel better that they’ve tried, tried everything that they can. And so that’s the case here,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I mean, it’s extremely hard, tough. The family knows that. I really hope to be successful.”

Cormican, 65, has dedicated his life to locating drowning victims since about 1996. Over the years, he has run his own dive shop in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, trained public safety officials on diving techniques and the use of equipment, and traveled around the country to assist with the grim but necessary task of finding bodies and bringing closure to families who have lost a loved one.

With his volunteer-based nonprofit Bruce’s Legacy, Cormican said he has been called to about 300 searches in locales as far away as Nepal, Panama, Romania and Guatemala, and has recovered 58 drowning victims. He founded the organization in 2013 in remembrance of his brother, Bruce, a volunteer firefighter who died in 1995 while trying to recover the body of a drowning victim.

Earlier this week, Sills said he believes Jones' body is in the depths of the lake, perhaps 80 feet down and within a couple of miles of the dam.

Local officials have made some progress in the search, and Sills said he welcomes the additional help. They found Jones' shoes not far from where Wilson’s body was located and unearthed electronic clues that sketch out a timeline of the ill-fated boat ride, from cellphone “pings” to signs she had been taking photos.

But Cormican plans to start from scratch. He wants to speak to the person who reported seeing Jones' empty boat. He also will review the evidence recovered so far, including Jones' wallet and a cookie with icing found in the Sun Dolphin Pro 120 fishing boat.

Sills said his agency has been working with the U.S. Secret Service to unlock the cellphone of Wilson, a Spelman College math instructor. On Tuesday, the sheriff told the AJC that they hadn’t yet cracked the phone’s security code but that the Georgia Department of Corrections might be able to help.

Cormican said that cellphone data is key, and he is frustrated that he won’t be able to use that information to guide his search.

“I’ll listen to what the locals have done, but I don’t get hung up on what they’ve done. I don’t not search an area because they’ve already searched it, because in so many cases that’s where I find them. So I’ll do my own interviews, I’ll do my own thing,” Cormican said.

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

Cormican is bringing about $300,000 of equipment to Georgia. In most cases, he asks those requesting his services to cover travel, hotel and food expenses. But he said he’s able to do the work thanks to donations he receives through his website.

In a recent statement to Channel 2 Action News, Jones' family said they are “still working and searching in cooperation with numerous private nonprofit agencies, volunteers and national search teams.”

Cormican plans to use a sonar, which is a 4-foot-long torpedo towed about 15 feet off the bottom of the lake, during the Lake Oconee search. For areas where the sonar may not reach because of underwater trees or debris, or if Cormican wants to do a more thorough search, he will use a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The ROV is a sonar-equipped device with a light and camera.

“That’ll pick up any bodies that are laying down there, any images. And so we have to decipher between all the logs and trees and what a body is,” he said.

If the equipment gets stuck or can’t access a spot, divers will assist. Cormican said Lake Oconee resembles an underwater forest; many trees poke through the surface, making it difficult to maneuver a boat and sonar equipment.

“It’s a mess. It’s very difficult. It’s going to be a very difficult lake to search,” he said.

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

All of the sonar images gathered are recorded so Cormican can stop the footage, zoom in, get coordinates and review it as many times as needed. He estimates he will need at least five days on the water to cover all the areas where Jones' body could be.

Time permitting, he plans to review the footage each evening. If Jones' body isn’t found while Cormican is in Georgia, he will keep pouring over the footage and relay any information to local authorities.

“When we do find something, it’s going to give us pretty accurate GPS coordinates,” Cormican said.

The Oconee trip marks at least the second time Cormican has been called to Georgia for a water search. In 2021, the mother of a 24-year-old missing for three months on Lake Lanier asked for his help. Dorian Adonis Pinson’s body was found in 117 feet of water about an hour after Cormican got out on the lake, he said.

In the 1990s, when he and his brother were volunteer divers, Cormican said there wasn’t a lot of training available.

A year after Bruce’s death, he opened his own dive shop, became an instructor and started to train public safety divers all over the upper Midwest. He sold the shop after 22 years. He now also runs Search and Recovery Consulting, which sells equipment to agencies and provides training.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to give a family member their loved one back after they’ve been missing,” Cormican said.