Logan County Search Yields No Body

[January 26, 2008]  First responders, some with frost bite from hours spent dealing with water and ice in subzero wind chills while battling a major house blaze near Beason on Thursday, were back out for more hours in the cold yesterday afternoon.

Search and Rescue teams from four counties joined local law enforcement scouring miles of Salt Creek and its banks south of Lincoln looking for a body. A woman called the Logan County Sheriff’s office about 2:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon to report that she saw what she thought was a body.

The woman called from a cell phone and said that she and her husband were driving into Lincoln on Route 66 when she thought she what she thought was a body that looked to be dressed in jeans, and possibly black and white stripped jacket or shirt down near the creek. She had her husband drive back around and she still saw it, however, her husband could not see it. It was near a waterway leading into Salt Creek that was crowded with debris.

They drove on and were not able to be contacted again by the cell phone.

Logan County Sheriff’s Department was joined by Lincoln Police Department; Lincoln Rural, Middletown and New Holland Fire Departments and Search and Rescue Teams; Lincoln Police Department, Logan County Emergency Management Agency, Logan County Search and Rescue teams, McLean and Sangamon County Dive Teams in a “Hasty” search at about 3 p.m. DeWitt County Ground Search Team was on stand-by.

Law enforcement searched around that bridge and bridges down stream. Because of time, approaching dusk, ice and debris creating murky water and the extreme water temperature, it was decided that the dive teams would not enter the water. Teams took boats and searched the water and banks from Route 66 to Rocky Ford Bridge.

Logan County Emergency Management Agency assistant director Terry Storer said that the search did not yield any findings and was called for dark. Further investigation included examining reports for a missing person, abandoned car or any other evidences. There was nothing found there either. Which puts us in wait mode, Storer said.

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