(Wahpeton)– The search for missing 12-year-old Colin Helmers, who’s still missing from last Saturday’s tragic sinking of a barge on West Lake Okoboji, is getting some high tech assistance.
Members of the Hennepin County, Minnesota Sheriff’s Office Dive Team arrived on the scene late this (Wed.) morning. It’s ranked among the top 10 dive teams in the nation.
At a news conference this (Wed.) afternoon, Mark Petersen, incident commander for the Okoboji Underwater Search and Rescue Team, said the Minneapolis team has brought a highly sophisticated wide scan sonar with them capable of scanning an area the size of a football field in a minute or less.
D-N-R and fire and rescue personnel scoured the shorelines of West Lake Okoboji earlier today for signs of anything that may have washed up. Sheriff Greg Baloun says they found nothing.
Both Baloun and Petersen say they’re committed to continuing the search for however long it may take.
Baloun says he has an idea for the next major fundraiser in the lakes area–a wide scan sonar. Petersen believes the cost of such a unit ranges anywhere from 25 thousand to 35 thousand dollars.
The body of 31-year-old Matthew Molacek, who was also on the barge when it sank, was found around 12:30 p.m. Monday in about 65 feet of water about 25 feet southwest of the barge wreckage.
