As emergency crews continue the search for Shelby Rhodes, a 26-year-old man reported missing last weekend in Monongahela, hope and technology drive the effort. According to WPXI, emergency personnel have resumed the search yesterday morning, with multiple departments coming together to scour the Black Diamond area where Rhodes was last observed in the early hours of February 7th.
Rhodes' phone, alongside a single set of footprints, was discovered near the Monongahela River, prompting the emergency crews to intensify their search efforts. Search efforts have expanded, employing K-9 units to investigate the surrounds, and Rhodes was last seen in clothing that was distinctive—a blue and yellow flat-brim cap, a black hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, his sister Jessica reported to WPXI.
As the search entered another day, the Monongahela City Fire Chief, Aaron Leezer, revealed that crews have not been limiting their search to the riverbanks, but have been delving deep into the cold waters of the river itself. When the subaqueous visibility was low, they deployed high-tech tools such as aerial drones, sonar equipment, and underwater drones donated by the teams from Elizabeth. "They're like really small submarines, basically, and they have cameras and everything on them, and they can go under and, seeing what we can't see under the ice," Leezer told CBS News.
Divers were sent into the river at 4 p.m. yesterday but emerged without any further clues to Rhodes' whereabouts. With day's light failing, the crews planned to resume their search on Sunday at 8 a.m., according to the same CBS News report. His sister, holding onto hope, intends for anyone who might be watching, "please, please, please, come up," Jessica Rhodes implored. Describing her brother, she said, "I want to call him a nomad. He has a heart of gold. He's a sensitive guy."
