Rising water makes search for missing city of Albany employee more difficult

ALBANY – As the second afternoon of a search for a city of Albany employee who disappeared into the Flint River on Monday continued, officials were maintaining hope that he would be found.

“It’s a heart-breaking situation, and we’re all hoping for the best outcome,” Albany Public Information Officer Krista Monk said. “”We all want to see him found and he’s OK.”

On Tuesday officers with the Georgia Department of Natural resources and Albany firefighters were on the water in boats looking for the 36-year-old Public Works Department employee. A Georgia State Patrol helicopter with heat-sensing equipment also was engaged in the search for part of the day.

As water moves downstream after the heavy rainfall on Monday, the river has been rising, Monk said. The depth was at 15 feet on Tuesday and was expected to rise as high as 20 feet on Wednesday.

“The river is getting higher and moving faster, and that is making it a little more difficult,” she said. “It’s definitely moving a lot faster and it’s deeper.”

The worker and another worker were at the river in downtown Albany on Monday morning taking a water sample at the time one employee fell into the river.

Staff Photo: Tara Fletcher