OSAWATOMIE — Osawatomie and Miami County authorities have been searching for a missing 19-year-old man they believe drowned in the Marais des Cygnes River at Osawatomie Sunday night. Miami County 911 received a call about a man in distress in the river near the Eighth Street bridge at about 6 p.m., Osawatomie assistant police chief Robert Butters said. Witnesses reported the man tried to swim from the south side of the river to the north side upstream from a low-water dam, Butters said. However, the man was swept down stream and over the low-water dam and pulled into the boiling water below the low-water dam. There is a six-foot difference in water levels on the river above and below the dam, Butters said. Witnesses said they tried unsuccessfully to pull him from the rivter but he disappeared into the turbulent water. The man likely drowned, Butters said. The overland park water rescue team is helping the Osawatomie Fire Department trying to find the man’s body but are hampered by the rolling water below the low-water dam. The man’s name won’t be released until his body is recovered and he is positively identified, Butters said.
Monday, Aug. 12, 10 a.m.
