The Georgia Department of Natural Resources released the names of two men from Cumming who were still missing on Lake Lanier on Thursday morning after their bass boat collided with a cabin cruiser.
Rescuers were still searching for Brianislav Prazich, 59, who was operating the boat, and Nicholas Edward Schimweg, 38, the passenger, in the Bald Ridge Creek area near Little Ridge Park where a boating incident was reported to Georgia DNR game wardens on Wednesday, May 8 at 4:55 p.m., according to Mark McKinnon, a public affairs officer for the DNR.
The bass boat received extensive damage after colliding with a 23- to 24-foot cabin cruiser with three adults on board: Scott Butler, 55, of Atlanta who was operating the cruiser; Amy R. Butler, 19, of Atlanta; and Abigail Suzman, 18, of Scarsdale, N.Y., the DNR said.
Scott Butler was taken to North Fulton Hospital for treatment of chest pain and upper extremity injuries, according to Division Chief Jason Shivers of the Forsyth County Fire Department, while Amy Butler and Suzman received only minor injuries.
The cabin cruiser received only minor damage, the DNR said.
The U.S. Army corps of Engineers, Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, Forsyth County Fire Department and Forsyth County Emergency Management Agency are involved in the recovery effort.
Rescuers searched for Prazich and Schimweg until dark Wednesday and resumed their efforts around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday using sonar equipment on patrol boats and a pontoon, the DNR said.
The water in the search area ranged from 35- to 80-feet deep, the DNR said, with the bottom covered with “heavy vegetation and standing timber.”
Recovery efforts were expected to continue throughout the day, though weather could hinder the search. Storms are expected to move into the area after 2 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
The cause of the accident is under investigation by the DNR’s Critical Incident Response Team, which is expected to take 6-8 weeks, the DNR said.
The only witnesses of the accident are believed be the survivors of the incident, the DNR said.
“We hope to find these men soon to bring closure to these hurting families,” the DNR said in a statement.
Jim Dean contributed to this report.