Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 18, 1993 TAG: 9307180150
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL CSOLLANY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Heavy traffic, poor visibility and trees on the bottom of the lake have hindered efforts to locate the body of 9-year-old Nyssa Ann McFaddin, officials said.
Divers stopped searching Friday evening and will resume Monday morning because of heavy weekend traffic.
"With several thousand boats on the lake, we wouldn't be able to provide protection for the divers," Department of Game and Island Fisheries Lt. Karl Martin said.
Divers had searched since the Tuesday evening accident, but as they reached depths close to 100 feet, their efforts slowed.
"At 100 feet below, light as you know it is not there," he said. "Visibility is zero, and with the lights the divers carry, they can see about 5 feet . . . provided the bottom is not disturbed."
Divers must do much of the searching with their hands when silt kicked up from the lake's bottom clouds the water, Martin said.
Trees that cover the lake floor also have presented problems.
One diver, the lieutenant said, became entangled in some vegetation and used up five times the normal amount of oxygen struggling to free himself.
As divers prepare to resume searching on Monday, they will begin at depths of more than 100 feet which Martin said may slow the process further.
Martin said the search has also been hurt by recent personnel and equipment cuts.
But together with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, the State Police, and the Scruggs Diving Team, the game department will continue to look for Nyssa.
"We'll continue to search until we're satisfied that the area has been covered well . . . [and] until it becomes too dangerous to continue," he said.
Martin expressed some confidence in his mission.
In his 20 years in law enforcement, every person who has drowned has been recovered except one, he said.
Despite the weekend halt in the search, Martin said Nyssa's relatives still are holding vigil at the side of the lake.
Nyssa was on a pontoon boat with her aunt and two other people. The foursome was coming in from an afternoon on the lake when Nyssa, riding in the bow, climbed over the railing and slipped.
Her life jacket came off as she fell underneath the boat.
Family members and rescue workers have little doubt that the girl - who had come from Indiana to visit her father, Dale McFaddin - has drowned.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB