Officials confirm the bodies of a man and two young girls were pulled from the Amerson River after suddenly vanishing in its waters Tuesday evening.
It was supposed to be just another summer evening at the river. Instead, it turned into heartbreak.
On Wednesday, crews recovered the bodies of three family members who disappeared the night before while spending time at Amerson River Park in Macon. Authorities say all three went under in an instant—and never came back up.
The River Took Them Quickly. It Didn’t Give Them Back Easily.
It began around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. That’s when witnesses say the group—two children and an adult—were wading in the Amerson River, a place locals know well. It’s scenic. Peaceful. Usually harmless.
Until it’s not.
Bibb County deputies say all three suddenly vanished beneath the surface without warning. Just gone. Search crews rushed in as daylight faded, but they were up against the river’s quiet strength—and its shadows.
By 10 a.m. Wednesday, a grim discovery: the bodies of 28-year-old Johnny Collins III and 7-year-old Summer McRae were pulled from the river.
Hours later, around 3 p.m., the final blow landed. The body of 10-year-old Skyler Worthen was recovered downstream.
Three names. Three lives cut short. One family shattered.
No Answers Yet. Just Grief.
Officials haven’t publicly explained what caused the group to go under so quickly. There was no rain. No storm. Just calm summer weather.
There’s also no confirmation yet of the exact relationship between the three victims. Authorities say they were “described to search crews as members of the same family,” but whether Collins was the girls’ father, uncle, or something else hasn’t been clarified.
A Deadly Week on Georgia’s Waterways
This wasn’t the only drowning.
Just days earlier, a 5-year-old boy from Cumming died in an unrelated incident in Lake Chatuge. He had wandered into the water. His body was later recovered, adding another line to an already grim list.
It’s been a painful week for Georgia’s lakes and rivers.
Drownings spike in the summer, but this week feels different. One local emergency responder said it was the “worst stretch of back-to-back drownings” he’d seen in over a decade.
People go out to cool off. To relax. But Georgia’s waterways—especially rivers like the Ocmulgee and Amerson—hide deep drop-offs and strong undercurrents that don’t always show themselves on the surface.
And kids don’t always know what’s beneath their feet.
Families Are Left Holding the Silence
There was no official press conference. No cameras. Just three separate pronouncements of death. The Macon-Bibb County coroner quietly confirmed each name and time.
Neighbors and friends are learning the news the hard way—through social media, word of mouth, or sadly, calls from the sheriff’s office.
The silence that follows is heavy.
It’s not just grief. It’s disbelief.
This is what a neighbor wrote online about one of the victims:
“She was the kind of kid who brought a smile to the room. Loved dogs. Loved watermelon. Couldn’t stop singing that Frozen song.”
So Many Questions Still Unanswered
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t released a full incident report yet. But multiple officials say the trio may have been caught in a deeper-than-expected section of the river near a sharp bend—where the current picks up without much warning.
One responder said it’s an area where many people “feel like they can stand and suddenly can’t.”
They were also near dusk, and officials say visibility plummets after 8 p.m.
It’s unclear whether life jackets were worn.
Here’s what we know based on public statements so far:
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Victims: Johnny Collins III (28), Summer McRae (7), and Skyler Worthen (10)
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Location: Amerson River Park, near I-75 in Macon
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Incident: All three went under around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
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Recovery: Bodies retrieved between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday
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Status: Described as family members; exact relationships undisclosed
And here’s what’s still unknown:
| Question | Status |
|---|---|
| Cause of drowning | Undetermined |
| Whether all could swim | Unknown |
| Life jackets used? | Not confirmed |
| Relationship between victims | Not disclosed |
For now, those blanks remain.
The Park Is Quiet Again. But It Feels Different.
By Wednesday evening, Amerson River Park had returned to its quiet self. No sirens. No divers. Just the sound of wind through the trees and water moving past.
But it’s not the same park anymore—not for the families, or the search teams, or the people who stood on that muddy bank and watched emergency crews pull lifeless bodies out of the current.
You don’t forget that kind of thing.
One mother who frequents the area with her kids said she’d now think twice about letting them near the river, even in ankle-deep water.
“They were just out for a summer evening,” she said. “That could’ve been anyone.”
And that’s the part that haunts people.
