CLEARFIELD – Local swift-water rescue teams, search dogs and their handlers took to the river Sunday to continue searching for a missing Clearfield man.
Boat crews from Clearfield, Curwensville and Treasure Lake Volunteer Fire Departments, along with Elkland Search and Rescue and Canine Aided Emergency Search and Rescue dog handlers took to the West Branch of the Susquehanna River shortly after 10 a.m., Sunday. The boat teams concentrated their efforts on a stretch of about seven miles long between Lawrence Township and Shawville.
Teams traveling on foot and using all-terrain vehicles also continued searching along the banks and through wooded areas along the river.
On Friday, experienced kayakers and canoe teams searched hard-to-access areas of the river for several hours.
The crews were called in to continue the search for 74-year-old James Coons. Coons left his house in the Golden Rod area of Lawrence Township on the evening of March 12 to go for a walk and did not return.
The search began for Coons that evening; however, crews could not access the river at that time, because of extremely high water and thick ice. Crews continued searching for Coons on land and with helicopters, but had to wait for the ice flows to break up and water levels to drop before deploying the boat teams.
The search is expected to continue Monday with the addition of underwater cameras.
Coons is described as 5-feet, 11-inches tall, 175 pounds, and was last seen wearing jeans, and a brownish barn-style jacket and a hat.