Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 30, 1993 TAG: 9308300137
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As of late Sunday, no body had been found, and no missing-person report had been filed.
The falls area, with its rocks and rapids, draws hundreds of people some days. The river has claimed several lives over the past few years.
Two people told police Saturday afternoon they saw a young man shoot the rapids and disappear, Deputy Jerry Turpin with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department said.
Nearly 50 search and rescue personnel from throughout the New River Valley, along with a trained dog and a state police helicopter, combed the water and banks of the New River until dark Saturday, Turpin said.
The search resumed at 6 a.m. Sunday and was called off around midafternoon.
"We triple-checked the area to where we were 100 percent sure the person was not there," Turpin said.
Without evidence that someone was missing, and with the river due to rise swiftly as Appalachian Power Co. opened the Claytor Lake dam - putting the divers more at risk - the search was called off, Turpin said.
Authorities will continue to check that stretch of the river for the next several days. Turpin said the higher water level may flush out a body, if there is one.
If a person last seen at McCoy Falls is reported missing, Turpin said, a full search would likely resume.
"If a person is missing, they're dead . . . they drowned," he said. "We will formulate a new plan. The whole group of us will get back together again."
by CNB