Missing Student Search Turns Into Recovery Mission
POSTED: Wednesday, May 30, 2007
UPDATED: 4:56 pm CDT May 30,
2007
HOUSTON -- Volunteers searched a northeast Harris County creek on Wednesday where a man disappeared while swimming, KPRC Local 2 reported.
U.S. Coast Guard officials said Randle Terry, 18, and a group of about 30 other teens went swimming in Spring Creek near Riley Fuzzel Road after school on Tuesday.
Officials said they believe Terry was swept downstream by stronger than normal currents.
Texas EquuSearch crews used boats to search the water.
"The current is not as strong as I thought it was going to be," said Tim Miller with Texas EquuSearch. "The waters went down considerably since yesterday, so all we need now is a little bit of luck and a lot of prayers."
The Coast Guard and local law enforcement agencies searched the area until about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, and then again on Wednesday but found nothing.
Searchers said the water is very murky and about 20 feet deep because of recent rainfall.
The search turned into a recovery mission by Wednesday afternoon. Volunteers believe Terry's body is near where he was last seen.
"Normally, they don't go too far. But, we do realize we've got quite a current here," Miller said.
Terry's mother said God is keeping her strong, but she has a hole in her heart.
"You'd have to just walk in my shoes to understand the way that I feel," mother Rondia Terry said.
Randle Terry is set to graduate from Westfield High School on Friday. Rondia Terry said he was popular and played on the football team.
She said her son knew how to swim. She said she was adamant about her children knowing how to swim because she lost her father in a drowning accident when she was 7 years old.
Texas EquuSearch needs manpower and boats to search the water. Anyone wishing to volunteer is asked to call 281-309-9500.
"We need divers at this point," Rondia Terry said.
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