What should have been a day of celebration turned into tragedy when the 6-year-old boy went missing during a birthday party. Search operations lasted three hours before the child was finally located. 
Brantley Griffin was one of 75 children at the birthday party held at a large resort with natural spring-fed swimming pools and outdoor playgrounds. This resort was popular for birthday celebrations and large gatherings. It had a lodge, several cabins, a kitchen and a bathing area, all surrounded by trees and bushes. Around three in the afternoon, Brantley’s family noticed that he was nowhere to be found among the children playing on the playgrounds or swimming in the pools. 
Worried, they alerted other party participants as well as hotel staff to help them search for the child. Shortly after, the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office was urgently contacted and joined the search. According to Brantley’s family, the last time they saw the 6-year-old boy, he was playing on a playground near a wooded area. Research was launched to find clues of its presence. Initially, the hypothesis of a disappearance was raised, with fears that he could have been kidnapped.
Police reviewed surveillance footage to determine if anyone had kidnapped Brantley. Drones were also used to explore the woods, hoping to spot the boy, but without success. After three hours of searching, divers finally discovered Brantley’s body in one of the pools shortly after 6 p.m. Unfortunately, he had died from drowning, and he was not wearing flotation equipment.
