(Wahpeton)– A side scan sonar specialist from Idaho is being brought to the Iowa Great Lakes to assist in the search for missing 12-year-old Colin Helmers.
Mark Petersen, Incident Command Officer for the Okoboji Underwater Search and Rescue Team, told KUOO news late this (Fri.) afternoon Gene Ralston of Ralston and Associates, an Idaho consulting firm, will arrive in the lakes area tomorrow (Sat.) afternoon.
Petersen says Ralston was originally scheduled to leave for Alaska tonight (Fri.) but decided to come to the Iowa Great Lakes after learning about the search for Helmers. His equipment is already being shipped here via Fed Ex; Ralston and his wife are due to arrive at the Sioux Falls airport at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow (Sat.) where he’ll be met by local officials who will drive him here.
Ralston is very experienced in deep water searches, having recovered persons missing in water as deep as 250 feet. He was called in by Modesto, California police to assist in the search for the then-missing Laci Peterson.
More information on the technology Ralston uses can be found at his company’s website at http://gralston1.home.mindspring.com/.
