(ST. JOSEPH, La.) — A deck hand reported missing Saturday morning from a moored towboat still had not been found Monday, WJTV 12 reported.
Vessel owner Riverside Construction reported that Timothy Howell Hearn was missing from the towboat on the Mississippi River at about 3 a.m. Saturday. While a fall overboard is speculated, it is not been confirmed.
Sheriff's deputies, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Parks and Fisheries searched the river and the area where Hearn was last seen. MDWPF used sonar equipment and dragged the water, but divers were not deployed due to the dangerous current.
Coast Guard officials are taking witness statements and conducting drug and alcohol testing on Hearn’s crew mates, according to Petty Officer Lora Ratliff.
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