FOUND: Missing Georgia rafter search turns into recovery mission

UPDATE: 2:00 p.m. Police said Woodward’s body was found Wednesday morning by someone kayaking the Snake River near Alpine.

ORIGINAL:

Wyoming officials say the search for a rafter missing since last week has turned into a recovery mission.

Police say 21-year-old Oliver Woodward of Georgia was reported missing July 4 after he was thrown off his raft in the Snake River area south of Jackson. Woodward was not wearing a life jacket or a wetsuit during the incident. Officials say the search has been scaled back, since they suspect he is dead.

Teton County Sheriff’s Lt. Matt Car told the Jackson Hole News and Guide on Tuesday that the department would love provide Woodward’s family with closure.

Woodward was with five friends when they were thrown off the raft. The friends lost their cellphones and were not able to report the incident until an hour after it happened.