A man went underwater in the Missouri River near Omaha on Friday afternoon and was never seen resurfacing, triggering a multi-agency water rescue that stretched into the evening before crews recovered his body. The operation centered near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, where fire boats worked the water as police and sheriff's units gathered on both the Nebraska and Iowa banks.
According to KETV, a witness saw the man floating on the north side of the bridge. A separate account from 1011 Now places the moment he went under on the Iowa side and closer to 4:30 p.m., saying he “wasn't seen above the water since.” Both outlets reported that the man went underwater and did not resurface.
Fire Boats Lead a Cross-River Search
The Omaha Fire Department led the rescue effort, deploying boats into the Missouri River as crews searched the water, per a photo caption from WOWT. Pottawattamie County crews were also dispatched to assist, since the man had last been seen on the Iowa side of the river, the station's report notes. Omaha Police and Fire vehicles were seen staged near the Baby Bob connector bridge as the search continued, per the same account.
KETV reported that the Omaha Police Department, Omaha Fire Department, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, and Pottawattamie County crews all responded to the scene, reflecting the cross-jurisdictional nature of a river that splits Nebraska from Iowa. Hours after the man went under, his body was recovered, according to KETV, which also reported that the investigation remained ongoing.
Age and Identity Remain Unsettled
Age and Identity Remain Unsettled His identity was being withheld pending family notification. 1011 Now reported that Omaha Fire Battalion Chief Michael Manning said the man recovered from the river was believed to be in his 30s. The cause or manner of death has not been established.
The Missouri River has been the site of other recovery operations in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. In a separate case reported by WOWT, the body of an Omaha man was pulled from the river near Council Bluffs and was identified as 40-year-old Steven Garland of Omaha, with the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office set to perform an autopsy in that instance. It is not established whether that earlier case is connected to Friday's recovery.
For now, officials have not released further details on Friday's incident, and the investigation into what happened near the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge continues.
