Search fails to locate missing boaters
Officials continued to scour the Monongahela River Sunday for the bodies of two missing Washington County men whose boat capsized near the Maxwell Lock & Dam in Luzerne Township Saturday. State police in Belle Vernon released the names of the two victims Sunday as Chief Ryan Nichols of the Luzerne Township Fire Department called off another day of searching as the evening wore down to night.
Trent Stupak, 40, of Washington and Steve Barry, 36, of Amity, Washington County, were listed as the two men missing after the boat they were fishing from capsized in a portion of the river with a swift current and a rising water level.
Investigating officer L.J. Serafini with the state police in Belle Vernon treated the investigation as a missing persons case, while Nichols said the work of search and rescue teams is moving into a body recovery search.
The confirmation of one person disappearing into the water changed into two confirmed victims late Saturday night, said Nichols.
According to police, the victims were on the river in a 16-foot bass boat owned by Stupak when, at some point, the boat capsized.
Despite efforts by a lock attendant, the victims disappeared into the river, police said.
Nichols said the lockmaster heard screaming and went to throw a life ring into the water since he had seen a person go into the water.
Police said the Luzerne Township Fire Department was immediately notified and Nichols initiated a search and rescue mission.
The boat and the victim’s vehicle/trailer have been recovered and identified, said police.
Numerous agencies and organizations, including the state Fish and Boat Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Mon Valley Search and Rescue team, have offered their efforts in the search to locate the victims.
The efforts began on Saturday and continued into the evening, resumed early Sunday morning and ended shortly before nightfall on Sunday.
So far, the search has been unsuccessful.
Nichols said side-scan sonar devices attached to rescuers’ boats scanned the river for bodies, but no bodies were found.
The Mon Valley Dive team assisted in the operation, but divers did not enter the dangerous waters where visibility is nil and the current is swift, said Nichols.
Rescue workers also performed a good search of the banks along the river and three helicopter flyovers of the area were conducted.
Today’s search will begin at 8 a.m., said Nichols, with side-scan sonar detection devices surveying along the lockwall and a drag also being performed in the river. If the search is once again unsuccessful, crews will call it a day at 7:30 p.m.
Police released descriptions of both men.
Stupak is 6-foot, 1-inch tall, weighs 205 pounds, has red hair, a buzz cut and a goatee mustache. He was last seen wearing work boots, blue jeans, a camouflage shirt and a camouflage hat.
Barry stands 5-feet, 10-inches tall, weighs 220 pounds and has reddish-brown hair. He has a tattoo of a dagger on his upper left chest, a tattoo of an Indian on his right shoulder and a band tattoo around his left bicep. Barry was last seen wearing work boots, blue jeans, a camouflage T-shirt and a camouflage hat with a Steelers logo.
State police said the search and investigation is ongoing. Police said anyone with information that could help in the search should call the Belle Vernon barracks at 724-929-6262.
Nichols said many of the victims’ family members were at the fire hall Saturday night and on-scene Sunday. He said no one – family members and rescuers alike – have received much sleep.
“All (family members) are cooperative and understand we’re doing everything we can for them,” said Nichols.
The families of the men did not wish to comment on Sunday.