By: Megan Palera
mpalera@klkntv.com
The search began around four Tuesday afternoon after a boater reported seeing an arm sticking out of the water.
So far, crews have not found a body in Branched Oak Lake and the search has been suspended for the evening.
For four hours, rescue crews combed the shore along the lake searching for a body. The call came in around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon. A boater reported she saw an arm sticking out of the water near Lieber's Point.
"That's all we had to go on at this point," said Chief Dale Heidtbrink with Malcolm Fire and Rescue. Malcolm LFR, along with Game and Parks, assisted in the search.
Crews on two boats used side-scan sonar to explore the bottom of the lake. "If they see anything that looks suspicious or looks like a body, the send a diver down in that area," said Chief Heidtbrink.
Crews needed all the technological help they could get Tuesday. Visibility in the water is zero, the low-levels and strong winds making for very muddy conditions. After hours of searching, even sonar couldn't find the reported body.
"You do the best you can with the reports that you've got and if it turns out that it isn't anything then I guess in a way we're that much happier. You know, no one wants to see a drowning," said Chief Heidtbrink.
Games and Parks may be back out tomorrow morning to continue searching the water, but the Malcolm Fire Chief says his crew will not since there have been no reports of a missing person.
