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Searchers recover body of 14-year-old missing in Alcovy River

Dejerein Grier did not come back to the surface after going underwater on Tuesday.

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — Searchers recovered the body of a 14-year-old boy who went reportedly did not come back to the surface after going underwater while fishing on the Alcovy River with his mother's boyfriend earlier this week.

The Newton County Sheriff's Office confirmed they had found the body of Dejeiren Grier Thursday morning. Crews found the body of the boyfriend, 38-year-old Antonio Perry, on Wednesday.

They said Grier was found in the same general area as Perry.

RELATED: Two people who went missing in Alcovy River in Newton County identified by family members

Perry's daughter, Najwa Perry, told 11Alive News that the 14-year-old jumped into the water while they were fishing, apparently to swim, and that Perry jumped in to rescue him. 

Soon afterward, she said, the boy jumped in again, and her dad followed in an attempt to save him but was not successful.

"They didn't make the second time," she said. "Something just kept pulling them down."

Credit: Photos supplied by family members
Dejerein Grier, 14, (left) and Antonio Perry, 38, who were reported missing in the waters of the Alcovy River on Tuesday in Newton County.

"My father was just trying to save him," she explained, saying that her dad was a good swimmer. 

Search crews and dive teams had combed the area for the past couple days searching for them, but twice had to be called off after nightfall one day and the threat of storms the next. 

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