Teen Still Missing After Search of River

Images: Jaheem McGhee; divers search Yellow River on Sunday (GCPD).

Gwinnett County authorities have suspended the search for a missing teenager who was last seen trying to cross the Yellow River.

The missing teen is Jaheem McGhee, 14, a black male about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing 120 pounds with a slim build, the Gwinnett County police said. He was last seen Thursday when he was trying to cross the river, but he was not reported missing by friends until nearly midnight on Friday, the police said.

After searching the river on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, the Gwinnett County Police Department announced Monday in a statement that “investigators are evaluating what their next step in the search efforts will be.”

McGhee’s friends told officers they were trying to cross the Yellow River on Thursday in Lilburn, in a wooded section near Bending River Trail and Riverside Drive. They were attempting to cross in pairs, and three teens made it across, but McGhee did not. The friends told police he was last seen being swept away down the river.

The Gwinnett police launched a search Friday night and into the early morning hours of Saturday, aided by a K-9 unit and a helicopter. The search was suspended early Saturday morning in darkness and resumed Saturday morning in daylight, the police said.

The police also brought a cadaver dog to the scene, and the dog alerted searchers to an area of interest along the river south of Highway 78, the police said. On Sunday morning, the Hall County Dive Team responded to that area, but did not locate anything.