RICHMOND, Va. -- Emergency crews recovered a body from the James River Monday morning during their search for a man who went missing in the water the night before.
The body has not been identified yet.
The search started around 7 p.m. on Sunday about 200 yards down river from Riverside Meadows after a witness who was with the man reportedly saw him drowning. But the Richmond Fire Department only had an hour of daylight left to try to find the man when they arrived to the scene.
Officials told CBS 6 their preliminary information is the man was with a group of friends enjoying the river, he walked out into the water and encountered so type of trouble — like maybe slipping into a deep hole — and he could not swim.
Monday morning crews set up not far from Pony Pasture to continue their search, but they switched to a recovery effort. They said they planned to use divers from Henrico or Chesterfield at some point to help with the recovery.
The man's family was also at the scene on Monday, as well as the friends he was reportedly with the night before. First responders tell CBS 6 the man was in his 20s or 30s.
Officials said the conditions of the James River are normal at this point, with low and calm waters — but that doesn't always mean it's safe place to swim.
"That's something that we always warn folks about is that yes, the river's low it's calm, it's beautiful, but there are, you know, you could be standing in ankle deep water and take one step and you're in a 12-foot hole," said Michael Oprandi with the Richmond Fire Department. "So if you if you can't swim, this is not a good place to be adventurous out on the water. I mean there's a lot of dangers out there, even when the water is low."
"This is the nature of having a river that's a recreational place for people to go and enjoy. And we want them to do that, and we don't want to discourage it. We just want to make sure that folks are doing the right thing, and thinking the right way when they come out here," added Oprandi.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
