GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A family is desperate to find their son, their brother - pro-basketball player Dorian Pinson - and Pinson's parents want to hire their own, private dive team to look for him, if they can afford it.
Pinson drowned in Lake Lanier and, so far, his body has not been found.
His parents have gone online to raise money for a private dive team to help search for him.
His mother's wish is, for now, beyond reach, further than even her loving arms can reach.
"I just want to see his face and just be able to touch him one more time," Alicia Pinson said Thursday.
Alicia and Johnny Pinson, who live in South Carolina, have quit their jobs and moved temporarily to a hotel in Gainesville, Ga., along Lake Lanier, to be close to those who are searching for the son they lost on April 18. With little money, they say they are grateful to friends and relatives and even complete strangers who are helping support them through this.
Their son had been on a rented pontoon with three others, jumped into the water, was unable to make it back, and went under.
Georgia DNR rangers and wardens are still searching for Dorian's body, every day.
His parents say they appreciate DNR's efforts, and want to find ways to help the searchers.
They've gone online, raising money to hire a private dive team to assist DNR try to find Dorian.
"I know his spirit, his soul, is with God," Alicia said. "I know that he loved the Lord.... Just for me to be able to... just touch his face and have that one last look at him.... And I can't get that if he's not found, I can't get that without the extra help, and I know the divers can't guarantee me anything, but just to know that I have fresh eyes looking for him" is crucial, now, she said.
Pinson graduated from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, in May, 2018.
He pursued his love of basketball by turning pro, playing on international teams in Germany, Israel and Canada--including the Niagara River Lions, just outside of Buffalo, NY, setting records.
Michelle Biskup, Vice President of the River Lions, said Thursday that the team is aching without him, wanting to help his family find him.
"It was heartbreaking,” Biskup said. “We all think about Dorian, he's this positive— contagious smile. Lights up a room when he walks in, he's the type of person that everyone wants to be around.... And we just really want the family to feel at peace with everything that's going on."
Biskup said Dorian was proud of the team record he set in 2019, his first year on the team —“He was the first player in team history to record a triple-double.”
And even when the team would hit a losing streak, she said, “when times got tough he was always positive, he always had a smile on his face. I think about how, after the games, he would just go in, onto the bus, and just start singing and playing music, and it’s just that personality that everyone wants to be around and you just feel really, really good being around him.”
"Bright, loving, caring," Alicia said of Dorian, "passionate about basketball, loved the Lord, loved his family, always a smile on his face, would pick somebody else up if they were down, believed in spreading positive energy, motivating others, helped the kids talking to them about school and helping them know how to get to the next level to play basketball... just a loving person."
Pinson developed a clothing line called Elevated Love -- part of his mission to mentor young people and encourage them to do well in school.
"He was loving, he always had a smile and cared about other people," Alicia said. "So I just want, I just want to see his face one last time. And that's what I hope to gain from the divers."
Her wish, she has faith, will soon be within her reach.
From the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, on Thursday:
"On April 18th, GA DNR Game Wardens responded to a drowning near Sunrise Cove Marina on Lake Lanier. Four subjects were on-board a rented pontoon boat when three of them either jumped or fell into the water. They were unable to make it back to the boat due to wind. Two of the subjects were rescued by a passing boat. The third went under and did not resurface. The search continued daily for five days utilizing side scan and sector scan sonar, and DNR Aviation flew the area several times. The search was difficult. The water was 130 feet deep with standing timber covering the bottom. During the 5-day search, the game wardens covered over 300 acres of lake using a grid search pattern. On the sixth day after the incident, they transitioned to surface searches and shore sweeps, which still are being performed daily. DNR’s Critical Incident Reconstruction Team is still investigating the incident. That investigation could take another couple of months."