CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. — After searching the Youghiogheny River for more than two hours in the dark Tuesday night, crews spent the entire day on the water Wednesday searching for a man they said was swept away while fishing in the river.
Connellsville Police tell Channel 11 the man they are looking for is Jerry Grimm.
He was last seen around 9 p.m. Tuesday fishing in the water of the Youghiogheny River, about a quarter-mile upstream from Yough River Park.
“He was fishing in the river itself. He had waded into the river to fish,” said Connellsville Police Sergeant Bryan Kendi.
Crews came back at 7 a.m. Wednesday, after calling the search off due to darkness around 11 p.m.
They’ve stayed out all day, working and searching through the oppressive heat.
They had more than eight boats with crews ready to swap in and out as needed.
“We have a rehab set up where they can come in, get their suits off, get their equipment off, hydrate and rotate crews out,” said Chief Jeff Layton of the New Haven Hose Company.
Crews do not know at this point what caused Grimm to be swept away.
Neighbors tell Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek the river can be unforgiving, even for the most experienced swimmers.
“I float the river often. We live right here and we have property downstream, so we’re always floating the river,” said Kelly Gallo, who lives near Yough River Park. “Even if you’re an experienced swimmer, it can really take you under.”
Dive teams focused on one specific area for quite a while Wednesday. It’s an area where a gas line had previously been buried in a trench in the river and covered by concrete.
“Basically, underneath the pipe, there’s kind of like a hollow area where the river took the dirt and concrete out, so there’s basically like a little ledge,” Layton explained.
Other search and rescue crews were on boats up and down the river, and state police flew over the area in a helicopter, as several departments pulled out all the stops in hopes of finding him.
Crews said that, despite the sun and hot temperatures this week, the river is still high from last week’s rain.
“The water is carrying away debris, it’s bringing new debris in, it’s making rocks and stuff unstable where you can slip, you can cut yourself and, if you’re just not careful, unfortunately, really bad things can happen,” Kendi said.
Neighbors told Channel 11 they’re praying for Grimm’s family.
“I’m sending out prayers and thoughts to them,” Gallo said. “Just not knowing where your loved one is, I’m sure it’s got to be hard.”
Channel 11 will continue to follow the search and will update you as soon as we learn anything new.
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