Funeral For UGA Student Found Dead In Wyoming Set For August 4

ATHENS, GA -- The University of Georgia student who was found dead a week after being ejected from a raft in Wyoming will be laid to rest on August 4, Patch has learned. A memorial service for Oliver Walker Woodward, 21, will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4 at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

Oliver was rafting on the Snake River on the 4th of July when he was thrown from the vessel while going through rough rapids. (To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Athens Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

Woodward and a companion both were ejected from the raft, prompting a search from authorities. Immediately after the incident, rescuers found Woodward's companion, but the UGA student, who authorities said was not wearing a life jacket, was nowhere to be found.

The Teton County Wyoming Sheriff's Office leapt into action, organizing a search party that operated until it got too dark. They resumed looking for Woodward the next day. After two days of enlisting multiple agencies, scent dogs and other means, the Teton Sheriff's Office announced that it would be scaling back its search efforts, resigning itself to the fact that Woodward may no longer be alive.

In the following days, some of Woodward's fraternity brothers from Sigma Alpha Epsilon brothers flew out to Wyoming to aid in the search. Still, Woodward was not located. But on July 12, Woodward's body was found by a kayaker in a river, authorities said.

Woodward was an outdoorsman at heart and he enjoyed traveling, fishing, camping, cooking, golf, cheering on the Bulldogs, music and spending time with friends, according to his obituary. A member of Peachtree Christian Church, Woodward's obituary notes he was "kindhearted and generous."

The official cause of Woodward's death is accidental drowning, according to the Jackson Hole News & Guide, citing Lincoln County Deputy Coroner Maryanne Christensen.

Woodward, who was reared in metro Atlanta, was living in Jackson Hole for the summer. His family is reportedly planning funeral arrangements.

Patch's Kristal Dixon contributed to this report.

Image via Teton County Sheriff's Office