The search for a 20-year-old man believed to have drowned in the Mississippi River near Orchard Farm continued into Monday morning, as recovery teams resumed their efforts following a pause due to fog over the weekend. The man, who reportedly was not wearing a life jacket, went missing after he and two others fell into the river from a boat near Island 522, also known as Mason Island, late Saturday night. According to Fox2Now, Orchard Farm Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jeremey Hollrah stated, "We had a report of three boaters in the water with one that did not resurface."
Friends and family of the missing man, including Bob Mannecke, joined the official search, utilizing advanced technology to probe the river's depths. "We are using my live scope that is very detailed with underwater structure," Mannecke told KSDK. "We can see a small fish 50-feet away, so if we come anywhere near him, we will definitely be able to see him." The search has grown with approximately 40 boats participating on Sunday, as per Chief Hollrah's statements to Fox2Now. As the efforts extend, officials have asked that the public keep their distance to prevent interference with sonar imaging utilized in the search.
St. Charles County Police, with the help of drones, and the St. Louis Metro Air Support helicopter are among several agencies involved in the ongoing operation. The missing individual is described as a 6′7″ man last seen wearing pink swim trunks. First Alert 4 reported Chief Hollrah's confirmation that six rescue boats were scouring the area on Sunday afternoon, near Grafton.
Despite the concerted efforts by rescue teams and community members alike, the operation has shifted into a recovery mission. "We’re past the rescue phase. We’ll likely work through sunset and reevaluate from there," remarked Chief Hollrah in a statement obtained by FOX 2 Now.
