Atlanta (CNN) -- A search-and-rescue team on Monday found the body of a missing hot air balloonist who had crashed in Georgia three days earlier. Acting on a tip from a witness who saw an object falling Friday, authorities dispatched a helicopter in the direction she described and quickly found the body of Ed Ristaino of North Carolina, according to Ben Hill County Sheriff Bobby McLemore. "We were relieved that we found him," McLemore said. "But that still leaves recovery." Teams made up of state patrol officers, forestry units, neighboring sheriff's department personnel and volunteers scoured areas east of Fitzgerald in south-central Georgia, where the balloon basket went down.
@highlight
NEW: Ed Ristaino was an "accomplished balloon pilot," friend and fellow balloonist says
@highlight
Ristaino's body was found Monday, the Ben Hill County sheriff says
@highlight
He went missing Friday after his hot air balloon was pulled into a storm
@highlight
Five skydivers who went up with him jumped and are safe
I don't have anything above my head," @placeholder recalled from accounts told to him.