Search suspended for missing boater
CONFLUENCE — The search for a boater missing after a weekend accident on the Youghiogheny River Lake will be scaled back today after being suspended Sunday afternoon.
Jeff Hawk, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) spokesman, said crews from ACE and the Fish and Boat Commission would begin to patrol the area this morning with remote-operated vehicles similar to mini-submarines on standby.
“At this point it’s a little hard to justify to continue with an aggressive search,” said Hawk.
The accident occurred Saturday afternoon when four people were reportedly on the boat when it capsized, with two of them taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va., while there was no information on the third person.
The identities on the people involved in the accident or their conditions have still not been released.
While the U.S. Army Corps safety patrol was on the lake at the time of the accident, it was later turned over to the Fish and Boat Commission.
“The challenge is the lake is really deep and the divers can only stay down 15 minutes,” said Hawk.”There aren’t a lot of divers qualified to that depth.”
Hawk added the divers are also exhausted from the search efforts.
Hawk said the fire chief at the Confluence Volunteer Fire Company indicated the Maryland State Highway Patrol could also become involved by flying over the lake and using sonar technology used to locate objects under water.