Rescue crews have scaled back their search for three missing Dalton boaters, according to Steve Lamb, director of the Marion County Emergency Management Agency.
He said crews plan to complete a large-scale search Friday and Saturday.
Two Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers began the search at 9 a.m. CST today for three boaters missing since Saturday evening near the Nickajack Dam, said Russ Vandegriff, TWRA officer.
The search, which had 11 agencies scouring the waters for the missing boaters Sunday now is in recovery mode, and the officers will scan the banks for floating debris and verify that a sunken boat in 20 feet of water near the dam is the missing men’s 18-foot Stingray inboard-outboard ski boat, he said.
Local volunteer rescue squads will aid in the search during a shift this afternoon, Mr. Vandegriff said.
“We’re basically planning on running to the (Alabama) state line,” he said of this morning’s search.
A group of five people from Dalton, Ga., were fishing under the dam on Guntersville Reservoir about 7 p.m. CST Saturday when their boat was pulled into a flood gate, said Joey Wray, an assistant supervisor with the TWRA.
Brothers Hildebrando Hureta-Hernadez, 14, and Norberto Hureta-Hernadez, 26, were found Saturday evening about two miles downstream with no apparent injuries, he said.
Police will not release the names of the missing individuals until all family members are notified.
Mike Bailey, the TWRA lead officer on the case, said the boat got caught along a concrete wall before being sucked into the spewing flood gates. He said the gates were open and the Tennessee Valley Authority’s electric turbines were running at the time.
Mr. Bailey said the boaters decided to move into an area of swift-moving water close to the flood gates, where fish are more plentiful. The boat’s engine failed while stuck against the concrete wall before the current from the flood gates pulled the boat upstream toward the dam, he said.
Todd South covers courts and the military for the Times Free Press. He has worked at the paper for three years and previously covered crime and safety in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia. Todd’s hometown is Dodge City, Kan. He served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq before returning to school for his journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Todd previously worked at the Anniston (Ala.) Star. Contact Todd ...
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