Search operation for a missing Kentucky swimmer is now considered a recovery mission
The search effort for a missing Laurel County swimmer who disappeared Friday evening is now considered a recovery mission, according to the rescue squad leading the search.
The London - Laurel Rescue Squad has been scouring the Laurel River Lake for the missing swimmer for days. Lt. Nathan Kirby with the rescue squad said search efforts shifted to a recovery mission after the first hour of the search.
“Sometimes you can find someone in five minutes and sometimes it’s five years,” Kirby said.
There were no actual updates on the search as of Tuesday morning, but a crew was headed out to the lake to resume search efforts. Kirby said they have used every piece of equipment they have and many other agencies are contributing to the search.
One of the pieces of equipment the search team has used is a sonar scanner called a lake drag.
“It bounces sonar off the bottom of the lake bed and if there’s anything there that looks out of the ordinary, they send a diver down to that spot and they investigate that,” Kirby said.
As of Tuesday morning, the lake drag hadn’t spotted anything unusual other than a couple of trees, Kirby said.
Search teams spend approximately 12 hours a day every day searching the lake, according to Kirby. It is unknown how long search efforts will last.
The search around 5 p.m. Friday when the rescue squad received the report of the missing swimmer. The swimmer was last seen near Sulphur Spring Branch.
Officials aren’t releasing the identity of the swimmer at this time, according to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.
