Incident Reports:
Rescuers search for swimmer
by Goodwin April, Register Staff Writer
May 26, 2001, Adel, Ia. - More than 24 rescue workers searched the tumbling water below a Raccoon River dam Friday for the body of a 26-year-old man.
Police said Cory Hart of Des Moines jumped off a 20-foot slab of concrete, where "Class of '92" was spray-painted, into the giant whirlpool about 5:45 a.m.
Witnesses told police Hart was trying to swim across the 55-degree, 8-foot-deep river.
Rescue workers unsuccessfully dragged the water for nearly 10 hours, but were forced to quit about 5 p.m. because of dangerous conditions.
Search efforts will resume when the water recedes, Adel police Chief Jim McNeill said.
A friend who camped overnight with Hart and a group of people at the Adel Island Park camping ground called the Dallas County Sheriff's Department about 6 a.m. to report a possible drowning.
McNeill said police were investigating whether alcohol played a role in the incident.
The Central Iowa Underwater Search and Rescue Team assisted the Adel fire and police departments.
Workers used three boats, one secured to shore by two orange safety ropes, to rake the riverbed. Conditions were too dangerous for divers to search.
Rescue workers also struggled with intermittent rain, and had to get off the river from about noon to 1 p.m. because of lightning and hail.
Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Dennis Nelson, who was on the scene, said the area below the dam, especially because the river is high, "is just a death trap."
"A tragedy like this points out that people should stay clear of these dams," Nelson said.
Police search river for man
by Garza Raquel C., Register Staff Writer
June 15, 2003 - Police will continue searching today for a Windsor Heights man who apparently fell into the Raccoon River in Adel while fishing early Saturday.
Troy Morrison, 21, had been fishing off the wing wall on the north side of the dam near Island Park when he fell into the water, said Jim McNeill, Adel chief of police. Police were called to the scene about 2 a.m. Saturday.
"The dam is next to the Adel Island campground, so it's not uncommon to have people fishing at all times of the day and night," McNeill said.
Morrison had been camping at Island Park, which is described on the city's Web site as "a great place to fish" because of its proximity to the dam.
The Dallas County Sheriff's Department; Adel's police department, fire department and rescue squad; and the Perry Underwater Rescue Squad responded to the call.
Other divers affiliated with the Central Iowa Underwater Search and Rescue Squad went to the scene in the early morning hours. As a safety precaution, dive teams are not put into the water during nighttime hours.
The search was suspended at 4 p.m. when rough water conditions made the situation dangerous. The search will resume today about 8 a.m.
