After fire crews stopped searching for a man who fell into the Truckee River, Washoe County's Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Volunteers will continue searching for the man. The man has not been identified, but he fell into the river near the Virginia Street Bridge on Saturday night.
Officials say that witnesses saw a male fall into the river near the Virginia Street Bridge in downtown Reno around 9pm on Saturday. The man was possibly in his late 60's, and was last seen wearing a red shirt.
That night, rescue crews had swimmers in the water from Virginia Street Bridge to the McCarran Street Bridge in Sparks.
Battalion Chief Mark Winkelman, with the Reno Fire Department said, "We did see the individual in the river, he got into a fast stretch of the river and got away from anyone that could get to him."
Reno Fire, Sparks Fire, and Reno Police crews were involved with the search, along with Washoe County Sheriff Office's HASTY team, and RAVEN helicopter assisting.
Water turbulence and poor visibility from silt due to recent rain led to the decision to suspend the search on Saturday night. On Sunday morning swimmers geared up once again in their wet suits to float the river from Virginia Street Bridge, all the way to Rock Park in Sparks.
They let the current carry them into eddies, alongside sandbars and other places where a body may likely be caught.
Jacob Lightfoot, a firefighter with the Reno Fire Department said, "The water's pretty turbid and pretty high, so anything deeper than a foot, two feet, it's pretty tough to see."
The recent rainfall has brought the river up, causing some issues for rescuers.
Battalion Chief Robert Casos, with the Reno Fire Department said, "With the increased flow it stirs up the turbulence and the silt."
But the water conditions aren't the only factor making this search difficult for emergency crews.
Casos added, "As the body fills with water, faced down, it can fill and submerge. So the likelihood from that point is that it's going to go down and get stuck in river."
This is the busiest time of year for the Reno Fire Department and other agencies to respond to river rescues. That's why they encourage you to stay out of the water if you're not accustomed to it.
"The water is going to be a lot colder than you think it's going to be. And it sucks the wind out of you really fast. It's moving a lot faster than it looks and so you can get swept out really quickly," said Lightfoot.
Officials say they do not know how the man fell into the river, the cause is under investigation. The Reno Fire Department suspended their search on Sunday. However, Washoe County Search and Rescue volunteers continued the search on Monday and are picking up the search Wednesday, May 11th. The volunteers plan to keep searching based on the availability of resources.
The man has also not been identified.
