Search Called Off for Reston Man Missing in Potomac River

By DEB BELT (Patch Staffer)

Organized search efforts have ended by Montgomery County rescue crews, which had no luck last week finding the body of a Reston man who is presumed drowned in the Potomac River.

Montgomery County police said that the missing man is Marco Reyes-Sanchez, 21, of Reston, Va.

Two swimmers in their 20s entered the river from the Virginia shoreline near Sandy Landing on June 2, says Pete Piringer, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spokesman. One man came out of the river, while Reyes-Sanchez has been missing since then and is presumed drowned.

Piringer told The Washington Post that boats in the river earlier this week for training and another incident also searched for Reyes-Sanchez’s body. But the formal search effort has been called off.

National Park Service rangers in the area will also look out for the missing man’s body on their regular rounds, Piringer said.

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-Sanchez, as well.

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