Body of missing balloonist found CORNELIUS, Ga., March 19 (UPI) -- Authorities Monday found the body of a Georgia balloonist whose hot air balloon went down during a thunderstorm Friday, officials said. The body of Edward Ristaino, 63, of Cornelius was found near the crashed balloon in a heavily wooded area near the borders of Irwin and Ben Hill counties in eastern Georgia, The Charlotte (N.C.) Ben Hill County Sheriff Bobby McLemore said 50 to 75 searchers combed through an area of 12- to 15 square miles before a helicopter pilot spotted the wreckage. The ground crew reached the crash sit about an hour later. Ristaino had been taking skydivers up during a festival Friday when a fast-developing thunderstorm approached, McLemore said. He managed to get the sky-divers to safety before his balloon was swept away by the storm. "He saved our lives," said Jessica Wesnofske, 30, one of the skydivers. Another minute, we would have been in the storm with him. The balloon pilot had a brief conversation with this ground crew before he fell into the forest. McLemore said Ristaino's final message was, "I'm at 2,000 feet and I see trees."