I believe this happened near or on the Altamaha WMA.
Searchers find body of McIntosh County boy in woods
Fifteen-year-old had been hunting with stepfather Sunday in rugged area.
By Terry Dickson (http://jacksonville.com/authors/terry_dickson)
Story updated at 11:33 PM on Monday, Mar. 8, 2010
A 15-year-old McIntosh County boy was found dead this afternoon in a rugged wildlife management area after a 12-hour search.A Georgia Department of Natural Resources ranger and other searchers found Daniel Head about 3 p.m. about three miles from the nearest paved road, McIntosh County Sheriff Steve Jessup said.
The boy's body was still in the woods at 4:45 p.m. and workers were trying to cut a half-mile passageway from a rudimentary road to retrieve the boy's body and do a thorough investigation, Jessup said.
Daniel and his stepfather Brian Gale had gone into the wildlife management area near the Cox Community in northwestern McIntosh County Sunday, Jessup said.
Investigators learned from Gale that the pair became lost and as they wandered Daniel ultimately became too tired to walk any farther, Jessup said. Gale carried Daniel as far as he could but finally left him to go for help and emerged from the woods about sunup cold, wet and disoriented, Jessup said.
"It's rugged. It's swamp,'' Jessup said of the terrain.
Temperatures were near freezing overnight and neither of them were dressed for cold weather, Jessup said.
It is possible Daniel died of hypothermia, but his body will be sent to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for an autopsy, Jessup said.
After they had not returned home late Sunday, the family called the Sheriff's Office and officers hurriedly arranged a search that began at 3:15 a.m. today, Jessup said.
The DNR was the lead agency in the search and was joined by Georgia Department of Corrections bloodhounds and their handlers, the Georgia State Patrol, Darien police and firefighters, county sheriff's deputies and others, Jessup said.
Although he was unsure why they had gone into the woods, Jessup said Daniel and Gale had guns with them, and wild hog hunting is legal year round.
By Tuquyen Mach (
[email protected]) | Reporter
Published: March 8, 2010
Updated: March 8, 2010
MCINTOSH COUNTY, Ga.***8212;A weekend hunting trip turns tragic after a McIntosh County teenager is separated from his stepfather and goes missing.
Searchers spent most of Monday combing the woods in McIntosh County for 15 year-old Daniel Gale. The teen and his stepfather had gone scouting for hunting spots sunday afternoon, when their GPS lost power.
***8220;They got disoriented and turned around, got cold and wet. Mr. Gale was able to come out but Daniel was not,***8220; said McIntosh County Sheriff Stephen Jessup.
A half a dozen agencies and about 50 people were involved in the search.
Brian Gale managed to make his way to a nearby home around 6:15 a.m. Monday. Daniel***8217;s mother Susan said her husband left the boy so he could go get help.
***8220;He put Daniel on a hill, with a gun for protection, said he***8217;d be back in about 20 minutes. He really thought he was about 20 minutes away from getting help,***8220; she said. She said her son and husband left around 1:00 p.m. Sunday.
Around 2:30 p.m. Monday, a Georgia State Patrol helicopter spotted Daniel Gale***8217;s body about 3 miles off Cox Road, in the area of Possum Point Road. Sheriff Jessup said they believe Daniel Gale died from hypothermia or possibly drowning, since he was found in shallow water in the woods.
His mother sobbed as authorities told her of the discovery.
***8220;Family is just totally distraught as anyone would be if you lost one of your children. We give prayer and sympathy to them and we***8217;re going to help them get through this,***8220; said Sheriff Jessup.
Searchers were finally able to recover Daniel Gale***8217;s body from the woods around 7:00 p.m.
Authorities said the woods can be treacherous and getting lost is easy if you***8217;re not careful.
***8220;If you***8217;re not familiar with the terrain and it gets dark, you get tired. You get cold. Hypothermia kicks in. Your mind doesn***8217;t operate in the way it should operate sometimes. You may not make the right decision,***8220; said Jessup.