A body was recovered Tuesday after an incident at Lake Springfield on Sunday.
Springfield Fire Chief David Pennington said that water levels have dropped six to eight feet since Sunday, allowing the department “to throw extensive amount of resources toward the recovery effort.”
He said the victim was found on the James River side of the dam, less than a quarter mile from the dam’s face. Pennington said he’s been able to contact the family to let them know about the recovery.
The fire department was dispatched to a water rescue emergency at around 4 o’clock on Sunday afternoon. There was a report that at least four people had gone over the spillway during flood conditions. Team members rescued one person, but three remained missing. As night fell on Sunday, the effort moved from rescue to recovery.
Approximately 40 members from seven different agencies were performing efforts Tuesday on the water, on shore and in the air using drones, according to Pennington. He said Highway Patrol divers were working in areas adjacent to the dam.
“We will continue this operation until weather conditions force us to change our mode of operation,” said Pennington, “or until we bring all of the family members home.” He said all four were related.
One young girl was rescued Sunday evening. After members of the SFD’s water rescue team got her in their boat in roiling water at the base of the dam, the boat flipped. Another rescue boat entered the water and rescued all of them. Two fire department personnel were treated at the hospital and released. A third was admitted but has since been released. At last report, the rescued girl was still hospitalized.
Pennington wasn’t able to provide many details, but he said a boat lost propulsion, which led to the incident.
Pennington said in a press release Monday that their search efforts have included shore-based searches on foot and using UTVs; a water-based search using boats; and flights with SPD and SFD drones covering nearly a mile and a half of the river.
Pennington said he’s proud of the response by the water rescue team and members of the fire department to the tragic incident and he’s thankful all the firefighters are safe and on the path to recovery.
He called the effort Sunday “an extremely dangerous, extremely complex rescue.” Their water rescue team members are highly trained, according to Pennington, and they’re well equipped. They’ve gone through thousands of hours of training.
“We, in fact, have trained for this very scenario to include the secondary rescue, which occurred when we had an issue with our boat, so our members are trained to the technician level for water-based rescue and flood response. They’re experts at what they do.”
City Manager David Cameron said in a statement that he had the chance to witness the rescue operation as well as the cooperation among agencies and that he’s proud that their efforts helped bring one victim to safety.
