HALL COUNTY, Ga. — The families of two separate drowning victims hired a privately owned dive team in hopes to recover the bodies of their loved ones in Lake Lanier.
One of the victims, 56-year-old Xi Zhu, went missing 22 days ago. According to officials, he went under at Lake Lanier the night of May 29 after trying to retrieve an oar for his inflatable raft.
Dorian Penson, a pro-basketball player, drowned at the lake nearly 62 days ago. Dorian was on a rented pontoon with three others when he jumped into the water and went under when he was unable to make it back.
His family began a campaign to raise money so that they could hire the private team to hopefully bring Dorian home.
"I just want to see his face and just be able to touch him one more time," Alicia Pinson, Dorian's mother told 11Alive on June 4.
Alicia and Johnny Pinson, who live in South Carolina, have quit their jobs and moved temporarily to a hotel in Gainesville, Ga., along Lake Lanier, to be close to those who are searching for the son they lost on April 18. With little money, they said they are grateful to friends, relatives and even complete strangers who are helping support them through this.
The families are set to meet the dive team at the Shoal Creek Campground on Shadburn Ferry Rd at Lake Lanier.
Officials said the bodies should be floating by now since it's been weeks since the victims went missing in the lake.
The dive team members believe they may be trapped under debris, tree limbs, and objects hidden in the water.
Hall County suspended its searches after weeks of effort.