Yough River Lake boater presumed dead; recovery operations continue
?CONFLUENCE — Searchers still have not recovered the body of a boater who went missing after the boat carrying him and three other people capsized on the Youghiogheny River Lake on Saturday.
According to Jeff Hawk, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) spokesman, divers continued on Tuesday to search underwater for 15-minute intervals for the man, but no body had been found. Hawk said ACE was still patrolling the area and two remotely operated vehicles with cameras were on standby and would be deployed if rescuers suspected the victim had been located.
Leading the investigation and search and recovery efforts with ACE is the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Hawk also said that while indications on Monday suggested that the Maryland State Highway Patrol may use infrared sonar technology to help locate the victim under water, no fly over of the lake had been performed to his knowledge on Tuesday.
Hawk said the less aggressive search was due to conditions of the lake, which he noted as very deep and challenging for the few divers who were qualified to search to that depth. He also said officials are now concerned more with a recovery than a rescue.
“We presume this person has drowned by now,” Hawk said. “It’s been three days now. We are waiting now for this gentleman to surface.”
No identities of any of the boaters have been released, said Hawk, who also noted that two of the surviving boaters were taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. by helicopter, and the other surviving boater was transported to an unknown local hospital by ambulance. No information on the conditions of the three boaters was available on Tuesday.