Search ends for missing swimmer

WHEATLAND (WNE) — The search for a missing 65-year-old Gering, Nebraska man ended around 5 p.m. Monday night, after all efforts to uncover his body were exhausted.

The man had been in a pontoon boat and jumped into the water at Grayrocks Reservoir outside Wheatland, intending to take a short swim. He never resurfaced.

Platte County dispatch center received a call for help at 11:42 a.m. Friday, July 12. The Platte County Sheriff’s Office was in charge of the search, with assistance from multiple rescue units from the area.

The Basin Electric Power Cooperative, which manages the dam and pumps in the reservoir, cooperated to shut the dam and pumps off for periods of time to allow safer search conditions. The geology of the underwater environment has contributed to the difficulty of the search. There are large rocks and many caverns underneath the area, and with no success after over 20 dives on Saturday alone by the Albany County dive team, multiple sonar and live scans, thermal drones, cadaver K9 and ROV searches in approximately 77 hours, the man is assumed deceased.

Sheriff David Russell said his body possibly slipped under a rock or in one of the many caverns, and the experts on scene described the situation like finding a needle in a haystack.

He added, unless the body surfaces, there is nothing more the agencies can do.

The name of the deceased will not be released by the Sheriff’s Department in respect of the family.

This story was published on July 24, 2024.