UPDATE:
Crews continue to search for a missing teen that disappeared while swimming across the Susquehanna Wednesday night.
Search teams scoured the area where he was last seen.
The search ended Thursday night and will resume Friday. Thursday, divers and boats were on the water, one of their biggest hurdles is the rough terrain below the water.
Just before dusk Thursday, divers took one last look below the Susquehanna River in East Donegal Township. That's where 19-year-old Jason Howard was last seen while trying to swim across.
Police say parts of the river can be walked across but there is a 100-yard stretch about ten feet deep that has a strong undercurrent.
CBS 21 News spoke to friends Wednesday night at the scene who said two of Howard’s friends were also swimming across and got tired but grabbed onto a rock.
Thursday afternoon Howard’s grandparents waited by the river.
“I’d rather not be here,” stated the grandmother. Howard’s grandmother tells us one of the friends tried to save Howard, his grandfather says he found out about his grandson late last night.
“My daughter called me, she asked me to call a prayer line because she was pretty well tore up about it,” Darrell Tomlinson told us.
For their family sadly this isn’t the first tragedy on the water. “I went through this before with a brother and it’s something you never forget,” concluded the grandmother.
___________________________________________
The search continues for a swimmer who went missing in the Susquehanna River Wednesday night near Marietta. Crews have been looking non-stop and they have yet to find anything.
There’s no telling how long it will take to find the body of 19-year-old Jason Howard. Thursday, crews began using sonar and if anything is found divers will be called in.
Last night around 7:00 p.m., he and two friends were trying to swim across the Susquehanna when he vanished.
Crews tell me most of the river can be walked across. But there is about a 100 yard stretch where the channel is about 25 feet deep with a strong undercurrent.
Howard’s grandparents tell CBS 21 News that he just graduated from Donegal High School two months ago. It doesn’t surprise them he would try to swim across the river.
They also said his one friend who he was with saw him go under and tried to save him, but couldn’t.
“I’d rather not be here,” explained grandmother Nancy Tomlinson. “Like I said, I went through this before in 1952 with a brother. It’s something you will never forget. You don’t forget.”
As far as conditions, the water is pretty clear. Visibility is about 10 feet. It’s also warm, at 80 degrees. We are told crews will continue looking for Howard until they find him. He has an older brother and sister.
Crews continue to search for a missing teen that disappeared while swimming across the Susquehanna Wednesday night.
Search teams scoured the area where he was last seen.
The search ended Thursday night and will resume Friday. Thursday, divers and boats were on the water, one of their biggest hurdles is the rough terrain below the water.
Just before dusk Thursday, divers took one last look below the Susquehanna River in East Donegal Township. That's where 19-year-old Jason Howard was last seen while trying to swim across.
Police say parts of the river can be walked across but there is a 100-yard stretch about ten feet deep that has a strong undercurrent.
CBS 21 News spoke to friends Wednesday night at the scene who said two of Howard’s friends were also swimming across and got tired but grabbed onto a rock.
Thursday afternoon Howard’s grandparents waited by the river.
“I’d rather not be here,” stated the grandmother. Howard’s grandmother tells us one of the friends tried to save Howard, his grandfather says he found out about his grandson late last night.
“My daughter called me, she asked me to call a prayer line because she was pretty well tore up about it,” Darrell Tomlinson told us.
For their family sadly this isn’t the first tragedy on the water. “I went through this before with a brother and it’s something you never forget,” concluded the grandmother.
___________________________________________
The search continues for a swimmer who went missing in the Susquehanna River Wednesday night near Marietta. Crews have been looking non-stop and they have yet to find anything.
There’s no telling how long it will take to find the body of 19-year-old Jason Howard. Thursday, crews began using sonar and if anything is found divers will be called in.
Last night around 7:00 p.m., he and two friends were trying to swim across the Susquehanna when he vanished.
Crews tell me most of the river can be walked across. But there is about a 100 yard stretch where the channel is about 25 feet deep with a strong undercurrent.
Howard’s grandparents tell CBS 21 News that he just graduated from Donegal High School two months ago. It doesn’t surprise them he would try to swim across the river.
They also said his one friend who he was with saw him go under and tried to save him, but couldn’t.
“I’d rather not be here,” explained grandmother Nancy Tomlinson. “Like I said, I went through this before in 1952 with a brother. It’s something you will never forget. You don’t forget.”
As far as conditions, the water is pretty clear. Visibility is about 10 feet. It’s also warm, at 80 degrees. We are told crews will continue looking for Howard until they find him. He has an older brother and sister.