DAYTON — UPDATE @ 5:30 p.m.:
The search for a missing 9-year-old girl in Mad River at Eastwood MetroPark is now considered a recovery mission, according to Dayton Fire District Chief Mike Fasnacht.
Dive teams from Piqua, Mad River/Enon and Wright Patterson Air Force Base conducted 15 dives today, but they were unsuccessful. A team from Hamilton County was arriving around 6:00 p.m. to conduct a search until dusk.
If they are unsuccessful, Fasnacht said crew would return Monday morning around 9:00 a.m. to continue the recovery efforts.
INITIAL REPORT:
The search for an unaccounted female child in the Mad River at Eastwood MetroPark continues this morning
Dayton Fire District Chief David Wright told News Center 7 that the initial search started around 5:20 p.m. Saturday evening.
Wright said his team was dispatched out to Mad River at Eastwood MetroPark on Saturday after they received a report of a drowning with a child in the water.
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Upon arrival, crews learned that there were three children in the water, two of which had been pulled out a Good Samaritan.
Two children were transported to Dayton Children’s Hospital. Their conditions are unknown at this time.
Wright said they “employed everything” the department had in the search, including drones and boats for topwater searches.
They were assisted on Saturday by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and their sonar equipment, Wright Patterson Air Force Base’s dive team and underwater remotely operated vehicle camera, as well as multiple area fire departments.
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Wright noted that pedestrians are not permitted to swim in the river and anyone who is not in a boat, kayak or personal floatation device should not enter any of the kayak features in the MetroPark.
“The river’s current is deceptively smooth on the top and it’s actually very strong,” Wright said.