LAFAYETTE, Ga. -- A LaFayette man seems to be OK after spending about 24 hours under a ragtop Jeep in a ravine in Villanow, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said Friday.

Justin Love, 18, was reported missing after borrowing the vehicle from his mother around 8:30 a.m. Thursday to go four-wheeling. He was reported missing Friday morning.

“We’ve been searching for him most of the day today,” Wilson said. “He had probably been there a good 24 hours but he appears to be in remarkably good shape considering he was trapped in the Jeep in a ravine.”

Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Freeman spotted Love through dense foliage at about 1:30 p.m. He was waist-deep in water and pinned under the Jeep, Wilson said. The accident occurred on Ga. 136 between the Villanow Fire Station and Ga. 201.

The lack of rainfall in the region may be hurting farmers, but it might be what saved Love’s life.

“Thank goodness the creek wasn’t running,” Wilson said. “It wasn’t very deep.”

Love seemed be OK, if a little weary, when officers found him, he said.

“He didn’t appear to have any visible injuries,” Wilson said. He was alert and talking some. He wasn’t complaining of injuries as far as broken bones but he may have been suffering from hypothermia because he was in cold water according to medics. Remarkably, he looked to be in pretty good shape.”

Love was carried by Life Force to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Wilson said. The Georgia State Patrol is handling the accident report.