Divers Continue Search For Missing Man

STAFF PHOTO SAMANTHA BAKER w @NWASamantha
Cadaver dogs from St. Louis and their handlers board a boat in order to search for the body of Michael Burton of Omaha, Neb. Monday, July 29, 2013, at Beaver Lake near Dam Site Park in Eureka Springs. Burton was spearfishing with a friend on Saturday and never surfaced. Carroll County Sheriff's Department and local search teams assisting in the recovery are using cadaver dogs, sonar and dive teams to locate the Burton's body.
STAFF PHOTO SAMANTHA BAKER w @NWASamantha Cadaver dogs from St. Louis and their handlers board a boat in order to search for the body of Michael Burton of Omaha, Neb. Monday, July 29, 2013, at Beaver Lake near Dam Site Park in Eureka Springs. Burton was spearfishing with a friend on Saturday and never surfaced. Carroll County Sheriff's Department and local search teams assisting in the recovery are using cadaver dogs, sonar and dive teams to locate the Burton's body.

BEAVER LAKE - Divers and cadaver dogs were used Monday to search for a man believed to have drowned Saturday, said Robert Grudek, Carroll County sheriff.

The search was unsuccessful by late evening. Grudek said that cadaver dogs did alert several times to one location in a cove off Starkey Island. He added that a sonar device confirmed that an object similar to a body was located in that region.

Michael Burton, 28, of Omaha, Neb., was spear fishing and free diving with a friend on Saturday when he did not surface from a dive just before 11 a.m., Grudek said. Free diving involves swimming downward into water while holding one’s breath until surfacing.

Grudek said Burton’s friend was also diving but returned to the boat to place medicine in his ears. After using the medicine, he swam back to Burton’s location and tugged on a buoy attached to Burton’s spear. He said that the line felt slack and realized something was wrong.

The placement of the buoy could have helped officials locate Burton’s body more easily but it was moved by the friend, Grudek said.

There are several theories of what might have caused Burton to drown, Grudek said. He said one is called a “shallow blackout.” He said a person free diving might black out from loss of oxygen. Alternately, Burton might have become tangled in trees or fishing tackle in the lake.

The recovery mission has been dangerous for divers because there is zero visibility at the depth they are searching, Grudek said.

“Its like being in a heavily wooded ravine,” Grudek said. “It is also a popular fishing spot and the divers are getting caught on lines and hooks.”

Grudek said dive teams including divers from Benton, Washington and Carroll counties have been searching a 600-by 800-foot cove that is 40 feet deep.

Three cadaver dogs from Little Rock alerted to the same location on separate occasions Sunday, Grudek said. He said the dogs ride with their handlers in a boat and sniff for decomposing gases rising from the water.He added that a sonar device picked up an image in the region but said the image could be debris such as tree limbs.

Dives after the dog alerts were still unsuccessful in finding the body, Grudek said. Another team of dogs from Missouri Region C Technical Rescue Team out of St. Louis searched on Monday.

Kyle Brownlow, a dog handler with the team, said he felt his dog was successful in the search.

“The dogs’ noses do not lie,” Brownlow said. “Very rarely do you get a dog that false alerts for a treat.”

Brownlow said dogs search for the location where the scent is strongest, but the task of locating the body can still be difficult.

“The scent rises as it moves with the water,” Brownlow said. “What we try to do is find the general area.”

The scent a dog picks up could be from half a mile away sometimes, Brownlow said.

Divers from C&J Sports volunteered to dive after a search by the St. Louis cadaver dogs. Their attempt also was unsuccessful as of late afternoon Monday.

Wendy Albright was camping at Dam Site Campground near the command station for the search efforts. She said it was especially hard to watch the search because she lived near Omaha. She said she also had a child Burton’s age.

“We haven’t been out into the water,” Albright said. “I don’t feel comfortable with the water. It is a terrible tragedy for the family. I hope they find his body.”

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will have divers searching for the body today, weather permitting, Grudek said.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 07/30/2013

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