BY JOHN HOPKINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
One of Shawn Gaddard's friends prays on the Beechmont Levee bridge.
(Michael Snyder photo)
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Rescuers continued to search the Little Miami River near Lunken Airport today for a teen-age boy who went under while fishing Thursday night.
Shawn Gaddard, 17, of the East End, had been fishing with five friends in shallow water, a companion said, when he stepped into a hole about 200 feet from his friends.
"He just dropped," said the companion, Ricky Taylor, 17, also of the East End, a boyhood friend of Shawn.
"I knew it was deep, and by the time I went down there, he had sunk. He struggled for about five minutes, and then he was gone."
Those companions who could swim tried to save Shawn, but found themselves in danger of being swept away.
The boys rushed up the riverbank to the adjacent Reeves Golf Course, commandeered a cart from a golfer, and drove to a phone to call for help.
As powerful searchlights played on the water late Thursday, boats from the Cincinnati Fire Division searched the surface, about a quarter mile south of the Beechmont levee.
Two diving teams probed under water. Police swept the riverbanks, aided by search dogs. The Hamilton County sheriff's helicopter searched from the air.
Onlookers crowded the bridge to watch the operations.
Police planned to make frequent checks at Shawn's home in case he was able to make his way there, said Capt. Andrew Raabe, night chief.
The area of the river, just south of the Beechmont Avenue Bridge, is a popular fishing spot -- one the East End youths visited frequently. Earlier Thursday, one of the teens' mothers dropped them off at the bridge, planning to pick them up later. The boys, ranging in age from young teens to 17, spent the early evening wading and fishing along the Little Miami.
About 9 p.m., the boys were walking through the water -- only as high as their shins or knees -- when Shawn suddenly plunged under.
"The undertow got him and there was nothing anyone could do," Ricky said.
Shawn no longer attended school, Ricky said, but worked for a tree service.
