Day 4: Rescuers Can't Find Missing Potomac River Swimmer

By DEB BELT (Patch Staff)

Rescue crews had no luck Friday finding the body of a Reston man who is believed to have drowned in the Potomac River, but boat crews will resume the task Saturday morning, say Montgomery County officials.

Montgomery County police spokesman Paul Starks told The Washington Post that the missing man is Marco Reyes-Sanchez, 21, of Reston, Va.

Two swimmer in their 20s entered the river from the Virginia shoreline near Sandy Landing Tuesday afternoon, says Pete Piringer, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spokesman. One man came out of the river, while the other has been missing since then and is presumed drowned.

Rescue crews call the gorge section of the river near Great Falls a “drowning machine,” Piringer said, and authorities urged swimmers to keep out of the Potomac.

The duo may have jumped from cliffs into the river just south of Great Falls, Piringer said. Nearby kayakers tried to help find the missing swimmer without success.

Rescue boats from Maryland and Virginia searched the river extensively, with a ground search along the shoreline. Searchers on horseback joined the hunt for Reyes-Sanches on Thursday.

Piringer said people are not allowed into that section of the river unless they are in a boat.

»Photo of rescue effort from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Pete Piringer