Q&A WITH LAKE LANIER HEROES: The Hall County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team
Extracted from the Fall 2025 Newsletter
EVENT RECAP BY CALEIGH REDDING, COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR
The LLA hosted the Hall County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team at the last Lunch & Learn event of 2025. Attendees had the opportunity to learn firsthand about their heroic work around Lake Lanier, from recovery operations to prioritizing safety for boaters. Panelists Deputy Anthony “Tony” Oliver and Deputy Matthew Denz shared stories, safety tips, and a passion for their mission on the lake. Keep reading to learn the two most important things they want every lake visitor to know.
HOW DO YOU COORDINATE WITH OTHER AGENCIES DURING MAJOR RECOVERY OR RESCUE MISSIONS?
Coordination typically depends on the situation at hand. Drowning remains a significant risk in any body of water, so the dive team extends help when needed. Not only do they dive in Lake Lanier, but all over Northeast Georgia. Their dive missions can vary from vehicle or evidence recovery, or tragic circumstances such as a drowning. The team may work alongside the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, local fire departments, or other law enforcement agencies.
For most missions, the fire department dive teams are the first on the scene, to focus on rescue efforts. Generally after about 30 minutes, the situation transitions from rescue to recovery, and this is when the sheriff’s office dive team is called to take over. Both the Hall County Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Office are equipped with boats, technology, and certified divers to work together for rescue and recovery missions below the surface.
WHAT MAKES LAKE LANIER A PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT TO DIVE IN?
Diving in Lake Lanier presents a unique and challenging environment, which can often vary depending on lake conditions and location. As the Lake Lanier Association removed 128 tons of trash from the lake, that is only what was on the surface. What lies beneath is a whole different scenario. It’s total darkness, cold temperatures, and countless obstacles including trash, trees, fishing lines and debris that present serious entanglement risks. Because visibility is nearly zero, divers rely on only one sense. They operate almost entirely on touch. To prepare, the dive team trains for entanglement situations by practicing how to cut themselves free while blindfolded, while another team member adds more lines.
Depth is another challenge, as the deepest point on Lake Lanier is 163 feet. The team’s basic ERDI training allows for 60 feet, with some training extending to 75-80 feet. Dive masters can go as deep as 100 feet, but typically only dive this deep when there’s a clear and specific location for who or what they are recovering, which can often be determined by technology.
HOW DOES YOUR TEAM DECIDE WHEN TO DEPLOY DIVERS VERSUS USING TECHNOLOGY?
Whenever possible, the team prefers to use technology, such as sonar or underwater drones before sending divers into the water. Lanier’s underwater environment is filled with standing timber and other hazards, so if adiver accidentally kicks a submerged tree, it can collapse, creating a serious safety risk. Another risk can be sharp objects such as rebar which can cut dive suits. Using technology first allows the team to assess the area and locate objects without unnecessary danger.
Sonar and sector scanning technology can pinpoint where an object as small as a bullet is located in the water. Once a location is determined, the team lowers a weighted marker cage by rope and scans again to confirm the location, to try and get within arm’s length of what they’re searching for. These tools can be a lifesaver for divers on missions that in years prior required multiple divers to search for manually.
HOW DO YOU PREPARE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY FOR THE UNPREDICTABLE SITUATIONS YOU ENCOUNTER?
The dive team faces physical and emotional challenges with every mission. To stay prepared physically, the team has dive training once a month, and they have free access to swim training. Emotionally, recoveries involving juveniles are especially difficult. The team relies on each other for support and has access to the Employee Assistance Program for counseling when struggles arise such as sleepless nights after difficult calls, or still replaying the mission in their minds.
One diver shared that they don’t do the job for the $50 a month for on-call hazard pay, but instead the closure their team can provide for families. With every recovery, the dive team brings another family peace, helping them have closure rather than leaving them to wonder forever. Everyone is someone’s loved one, someone’s child.
HOW CAN THE LLA OR OUR MEMBERS BEST SUPPORT YOUR MISSION?
Keep doing what you are doing now, cleaning up the lake and spreading the word on boating safety. With more trash removed from the lake, the safer the conditions are for boaters and the rescue and recovery teams.
HELP SPREAD THE WORD ON THESE TWO CRUCIAL TOPICS:
STAY CLEAR OF DIVE ZONES. Keep away from the perimeter of the dive team on their missions. Many boaters want to get close to see what is happening on the lake, but it can be harmful to the rescue or recovery mission. Follow the 100ft rule, by slowing to idle speed when within 100ft of the radius of their team. You’ll know when the team is out when you see the dive flags and the flashing lights of their boats.
LIFE JACKETS SAVE LIVES. Everyone wears a life jacket. While the law only requires it for kids, every individual near water needs to wear it. No matter how strong of a swimmer you are, you never know what can happen on the water. If an individual is thrown from their boat unconscious, they no longer have their ability to swim. Or if they are caught in a line, or catch a cramp. Many of these missions come down to one choice that someone made. As a captain, don’t let anyone on your boat without one. Make it a fun conversation, because nobody likes to tread water for 30 minutes. There are 34 Life Jacket Loaner Stations around the lake for those who do not have access to one. Ranging from infant to adult, the LLA maintains 12 and the Corps of Engineers monitors 22.
