June 6 (UPI) — Authorities on Friday night recovered the body of a 17-year-old after his small unmanned boat was found in a lake north of Atlanta one day earlier.

Around 5 p.m., the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said they found the body of Jackson Cole Croft of Woodstock. Family members embraced one another at the scene, WXIA reported.

The agency earlier Friday identified the missing boater as Croft of Woodstock after the empty boat was found circling near the Little River area of Allatoona Lake on Thursday night. The lake is 37 miles north of Atlanta.

At 5:20 p.m. Thursday, crews from Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services responded after receiving a call about a boat spinning in place without a visible operator. Responders stopped and secured the boat.

DNR game wardens and Cherokee County divers used sonar technology to look for the boater.

On Friday morning, search efforts resumed with several agencies. They used a remotely operated vehicle with a camera.

“It’s a very tragic situation and it’s one that none of these officers enjoy,” DNR spokesperson Mark McKinnon said at a news conference before the body was found. “It’s a difficult spot.”

He said the search is challenging because of Lake Allatoona’s varied depth and underwater terrain, including submerged trees.

“So in order to search that area, you have to do a grid to cover all sides of those objects. Very tedious and very methodical,” McKinnon told reporters.

McKinnon said they believe the teen was alone on the small boat. Officials haven’t said whether Croft was wearing a life jacket.

Family members said they didn’t know about the teen’s plans.