UPDATE: Missing Kayaker Found at Home, Oblivious to Search
ORIGINAL STORY: The search for a missing kayaker on the Maryland side of Great Falls has been suspended for Saturday and will resume Sunday.
Montgomery County fire department spokesman Pete Piringer said rescuers searched Saturday for the boater from about 8:30 a.m. to noon.
The search began Friday at about 2 p.m., when crews got a call for a boater in distress. Rescuers searched for the boater for almost five hours that day as well.
About an hour into the search, kayak and paddles were retrieved from the river, but a person has not yet been found.
The area has seen significant rainfall during the past few days, causing many flood-prone areas like the Great Falls to experience fast-moving water.
"The water's pretty high," Piringer said. "It's a couple feet above where it normally is,"
Piringer said crews have used thermal imaging to locate the kayaker, but so far haven't had any luck.
"The current is very strong, so we believe that if a person is missing and still in the water they'd be south of here," Piringer said. "We're hopeful they're clinging to the shore somewhere, but at this point, we don't believe that to be the case."
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U/D Potomac River - search continues & involves 5 boats, 1 helicopter, as well as ground searches for missing boater pic.twitter.com/2C6cI92V2j — Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) June 13, 2014
More....US Park Eagle assists with water & land search - boat & paddle retrieved by searchers, person unaccounted for pic.twitter.com/taoN69kJMo — Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) June 13, 2014
