OREGON When Oregon firefighters go to put out a fire, they dont leave until the job is done.

That goes for recovery efforts, too, which is why theyre still on the job, looking for the bodies of two fishermen who went missing after their boat capsized on the Rock River on Nov. 20.

Frustration is taking a toll on the department, but Chief Michael Knoup and Capt. Dustin Champlain arent giving up.

I think everyone here has that burden, Champlain said. I dont want to say we feel responsible, because the accident wasnt caused by us. But its ultimately our responsibility to get them out of the river at some point.

The department is surveying the river with sonar and boats when the weather and available personnel make it possible. A search-and-rescue team from Tampico with top-level sonar equipment returned to the area Wednesday to search for the bodies as well, after first being dispatched when the men went missing.

As of Friday afternoon, there was no new information to report, but crews were once again back on the water.

When the search began, the Oregon Fire Department became the hub of a full-scale search-and-rescue operation. Twelve area fire departments responded with resources, including firefighters and boats.

Knoup was not on duty, so Champlain was thrust into action.

It was a little nerve-racking at first, he said. We started as a small event and found out we actually had victims. It escalated quickly, that first few minutes was trying to process everything and move.

Within 10 minutes, the Sheriffs Office had a command vehicle on site. Champlain worked the operation from there and it made for a calm, collected experience despite the challenges of coordinating all the departments participating. Champain was up 60 hours straight before the initial search was finished.

The weather made the search difficult, and has continued to complicate revcovery efforts. Cold temperatures, high water levels and a swift current put the operation on the brink of being too dangerous.

I dont think people understand how fast that current is, Champlain said. You look at it from the bridge on land and say, Yeah, the water is moving. But really, underneath, the water is really moving at 7 knots. We did have a diver go in at one point, and they say their mask can rip off at 3 knots, potentially.

The scale of the Nov. 20 search was the largest the Oregon Fire Department has seen in the past 4 or 5 years, Knoup said. The last time he worked something comparable was a chemical plant fire in Seward in June 2013.

The Rapid Response Search and Rescue Unit 19, based in Tampico has been helping with the search. Its funded by Christian Aid Ministries, a national Amish-Mennonite nonprofit organization.

The unit was dispatched originally by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and its members were asked to return by Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle. Their service comes at no cost to the agencies that use it, but the team accepts donations at https://christianaidministries.org/illinois-sar/.

Fewer than 10 organizations nationwide have the level of equipment that this unit has, team member and state coordinator Ralph Kropf said. They have a command trailer, a sonar-equipped boat and a remote-operated vehicle that can be deployed underwater.

Both sonar and the ROV were used Nov. 21, when the body of one of the men was located underwater about a mile south of the dam, but the swift water prevented the ROV and divers from recovering it before it moved to an unknown location.

The sonar equipment, which uses ultrasound technology, had 4 miles of Rock River bottom totally scanned as of Wednesday, Kropf said.

So far, weve found nothing but logs, he said.

This week a lady stopped, all frantically and said, I seen one of them in the water. So, we went down to that point along Route 2 and got the binoculars out and it was a log. But, any time we get any type of credible information, were investigating and continuing on.

The names of the missing men have not been released. At a news conference Nov. 22, VanVickle said the names will not be released until the bodies are found.

Until then, Knoup, Champlain, Kropf and others will continue to work until the bodies are recovered and peace can be brought to the families.

Until the job is done.

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OTHER LIVES LOST NEAR THE DAM

The Rock Rover below the Oregon dam has claimed several lives, among them:

July 22, 2013: Elmer Leeds, 91, of Oregon, whose body was found floating near Kiwanis Park. There was no foul play, and Leeds wasn't fishing, Oregon police said.

July 4, 2012: Reyez Perez, 37, of Chicago. His body was found after dragging the river bottom below the dam a day after the fisherman waded into the water and was swept away by the current.

July 29, 2007: Damiam Folwarkow, 15, of Chicago. His body was found the next day in about 6 feet of water, in the east channel of the river, about 60 yards where he had been fishing below the dam.

Aug. 13, 2006: Samir Zukanovic, 29, of Chicago. His body was found in the west channel of the river, near the state Route 64 bridge. He and his cousin, Adem Zukanovic, Skokie, were fishing on the east bank and tried to walk over to an island in the center of the river when the current knocked them both down. Adem made it to an island and was rescued by the Oregon Fire Department. Samirs body was found 2 hours later, nearly 30 feet from where he was last seen.

See the rest here:
Anatomy of a search: As rescue workers look for missing boaters near Oregon, they're also trying to find closure - SaukValley.com