DNR searching for two missing males in White River near Williams Dam
July 21, 2020 - Williams, Indiana USA: Divers search as the DNR responds to the White River, where at least one person apparently went missing in the river, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health Bloomington, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office.
July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: Divers search as the DNR responds to the White River, where two men were swept away, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: A diver takes a break as the DNR responds to the White River where two men were swept away, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)
Williams, Indiana – July 21, 2020
More than a dozen Indiana Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officers responded Tuesday to the White River in Williams, Ind., where two male subjects are missing after stepping from a shallow part of the river into a deep channel filled with fast-moving water.
Officers used two different types of sonar, divers performing pattern searches, and officers in boats while searching for the missing males. Currently, officers have not located them but plan to search until sunset, and then resume their search in the morning, according to Conservation Officer Jim Hash, who was helping search Tuesday.
It was the intent of the missing subjects to fish, and they had fishing equipment, said Hash. Witnesses saw the missing males wade across the river, then get swept 75-100 yards down the river before they disappeared, and did not come back to the water’s surface at approximately 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The area where the men disappeared is below the Williams Dam, which was the location of a deadly DNR training accident in 1998 that cost one conservation officer his life. Hash said it’s a reminder that even experienced people can get into trouble with mother nature.
Hash said he’d like to remind the public that if they are around water, and unfamiliar with the terrain, to wear a life jacket. The men were wading in an area of the water that was shallow, but drops off into a channel that’s 5-15 feet deep and filled with fast-moving water. The missing subjects were unable to fight the current.
Approximately 20 DNR Conservation Officers responded to the scene, and about 14-15 were on the scene that at any given time, said Hash. Officers from Districts 5, 6, and 8 responded.
The identities of the missing males are being withheld at this time as family members are notified.
July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: A diver prepares to help search as the DNR responds to the White River, where two men were swept away, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: Members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources search in the White River, for two missing men, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: Divers search as the DNR responds to the White River, where two men went missing in the river, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: Divers search as the DNR responds to the White River, where two men went missing in the river, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: A group of woman stop to watch as members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources search in the White River, for two men, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: A diver searches as the DNR responds to the White River, where two men were swept away by strong water currents, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: A diver searches as the DNR responds to the White River, where two men went missing in the river, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: Divers search as the DNR responds to the White River, where two men went missing in the river, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: Members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources search in the White River, where two men missing in swift currents below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: Members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources use a submersible device to help in the search in the White River, for two men missing, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: Members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources search in the White River, for two missing men, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)July 21, 2020 – Williams, Indiana USA: A man watches as members of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources search in the White River, for two missing men, below the dam in Williams, Indiana, Tuesday, July 21, 2020. DNR Conservation Officers were assisted by IU Health, Indian Creek Fire Department, and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)
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