OKCFD explains why water rescue in Luther for missing swimmer was called off

LUTHER, Okla. (KFOR) – A Fourth of July water rescue for a 22-year-old man who went underwater in the Deep Fork River was put on pause Friday due to dangerous conditions.

Oklahoma City Fire crews said they got a call around 1:00 p.m. Friday that a man had gone underwater near a popular spot known as Bull Head Falls and never resurfaced. The Luther Fire
Department, Oklahoma City Fire Department and Oklahoma City Police Department promptly launched a rescue operation.

"Someone else went in after him," said Oklahoma City Fire Major Ryan Hill. "At some point, that person was able to get out. We were unable to locate the first individual due to the high flow in the water."

Hill said the conditions of the water created a situation where first responders couldn't properly situate themselves in it, meaning they couldn't hold ground. He said between that, trees and various other sources of water complicating the terrain, a search could have been dangerous.

"It's really hard," said Hill. "Unfortunately, it's just, it's the way things end up sometimes. We can't, if we don't see...the risks weigh out the other benefits of being able to find the victim. It's just not worth it to put people in the water because we're going to end up, that type of water, we're going to end up losing someone else."

The victim's family and friends were out well after search efforts subsided Friday. Some of them told News 4 off camera the victim is a kind young man who has looked after younger members of his family and has a bright future ahead of him. They said he doesn't deserve to have his life cut short.

"If we were able to see a live victim and then get to him, we could have got to him," said Hill. "But that's just not the case today."

News 4 asked Hill directly if he knew when the search could possibly continue.

"As long as the water's like it is, we're not going to be able to do any kind of searching besides maybe searching down the river," said Hill.

Hill could also not say if crews are shifting focus from a rescue mission to a possible recovery mission given the amount of time that had passed since the incident. No other information about the victim has been released at this time, and News 4 is respecting the family's privacy.