The search for a missing Alabama man continues as investigators seek clues into what caused the SUV he was riding in to plunge into Weiss Lake, killing at least four others.
Bobby Shore was among seven people in the SUV on Dec. 13 when it went off the end of a boat ramp on Riverside Street at Leesburg Landing. Two women survived, authorities said.
"We still have not found [Shore]," Cherokee County, Ala., Coroner Dr. Jeremy Deaton said Monday. "We don't have any leads."
Deaton said cadaver dogs over the weekend "hit" on a couple of locations in the area where Shore went missing but nothing was found.
The area being searched is confined to the channel between the eastern and western parts of the Weiss Lake reservoir and points downstream toward the Alabama Power Co. dam that links that end of the lake to the Coosa River. It is less than three miles from the site where Shore went missing to the dam downstream.
Deaton said last week that authorities believe Shore escaped the vehicle as it went under but never made it to land. Two women escaped the vehicle that plunged into Weiss Lake, the reservoir on the Coosa River created by an Alabama Power Co. dam.
The four who died have been identified as Robert Hardin; Cheryl Hobson; her daughter, Christy Hobson; and Dale Keener. The survivors are Kim Learned and Brittney Nicole Leslie.
Last week, the survivors said Hardin might have purposely driven into the lake, but investigators have found no evidence to support that scenario, Deaton said. However, the probe into what happened is continuing, he said.
Alabama Power Co. officials said dam operations on Weiss Lake will remain suspended until investigators conclude search efforts.
Deaton said search teams have included members of the Cherokee County Rescue Squad and Sheriff's Office, Leesburg police, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and volunteers who have logged numerous hours already.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.