Search for man last seen swimming across pond suspended; Efforts to resume Monday

DAYTON — The search for a man who was last seen swimming across a pond in Dayton has been temporarily suspended, Dayton Fire Department District Chief Nick Judge said.

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At 7:44 p.m., Dayton police and fire responded to a water rescue call at Action Sports Center on 1103 Gateway Drive.

“The story that we received was this gentleman was attempting to swim from one side of the pond to the other when he started to run into trouble. Witnesses saw him struggling to keep his head above water, and then eventually going underwater not to resurface,” Judge said.

Search and rescue crews launched their boats and began using sonar technology to find the victim.

“We found a couple of points of interest where we had divers in for an extended amount of time trying to find the victim,” Judge said.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base crews were diving in water that was 35 feet deep and “murky,” according to Judge.

The search was temporarily suspended due to nightfall and safety concerns.

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Judge said crews have responded to a water rescue at this location before.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Dive Team assisted the Dayton Fire Department on scene.

The search efforts will continue Monday morning.

“We’re going to have a very robust response in the morning, with a lot of regional partners and dive capabilities so that we can bring closure to this family as quickly as we can,” Judge said.

We will continue to update this story.

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