Search for male reported missing in Great Miami River at Dayton to resume Friday

DAYTON — The search for the male reported missing in the Great Miami River at Dayton has ended for the night and will resume Friday morning, Dayton Fire Assistant Chief Brad French said.

The search, which began shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday, ended at dusk (about 9 p.m.) because of darkness and related safety concerns, he said.

Divers and underwater drones were being used in the continuing search for the male, French said.

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Dayton firefighter/paramedic crews were dispatched at 3:58 p.m. on a report of an adult male in the water in the Great Miami River near West Monument Avenue. A full water rescue response from DFD arrived and crews began working to identify the location where the male was last seen.

In a 911 call to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch obtained by News Center 7, a caller said he saw a man jump into the river.

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“We’re working down here, we watched him jump in and he never came back up,” the caller tells dispatchers. The caller identified himself as part of a construction company working near the Dayton Art Institute.

Firefighters deployed multiple boats into the water, searched all nearby riverbanks, and utilized SONAR devices to aid the search. The fire department asked for an assist from the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Fire Department Dive Team.

At 6:50 p.m., the search remained active, the assistant chief said. Multiple boats, divers, and underwater drones were being used.

Agencies on scene also included the Dayton Police Department, Five Rivers MetroParks, and the Oho Department of Natural Resources.

Five Rivers MetroParks is handling the investigation, according to law enforcement on scene.

We will continue to update this story as information becomes available.

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