Search For Two Missing Men Scaled Back

Last Thursday, rangers began a search for three young men who disappeared while attempting to swim across the Colorado River near Boat Beach. As was noted in yesterday’s edition, the body of 16-year-old Mark Merrill was recovered from the Colorado River on Friday, May 1st, but the bodies of 22-year-old Joey Merrill and 16-year-old Saif Savaya had not yet been located. Despite an intensive two-day search by helicopter, boat and foot, with the added assistance of a search dog team, rangers have found no signs of them. They accordingly began scaling back the search on Saturday. That decision was based on the totality of all circumstances, including water temperature, the swift current, the fact that neither was wearing a life jacket, and the fact that all three were likely fatigued from their long hike to the river. Rangers will carry on with limited continuous efforts until the young men have been located and recovered.  Those efforts include ranger patrols on the river and on nearby trails, conducted with the assistance of the many commercial and private boaters currently on the river, and continued distribution of a missing person’s flyer to boaters and hikers along the river.