River search finds no one

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The rescue workers who commuters saw around the Missouri River Friday morning were searching for a man they never found.

Council Bluffs firefighters joined the water rescue attempt, but after a fruitless hour, the search was called off.

Employees of the Union Pacific Railroad notified authorities at 8:40 a.m. that a crew member on a train passing over the river near Harrah's saw a man on the trestle as the train crossed. The employee reported that when he looked back the man was gone.

Bluffs Assistant Fire Chief Matt Thomas said crews from Council Bluffs, the Omaha Fire Department and an Omaha Police helicopter responded.

"We didn't see anything," Thomas said. "There was no sign of anybody getting hurt, and there was nothing in the river."

Security camera footage at the casino also was reviewed.

No boats were launched into the river. The Council Bluffs boat, known as Rescue 22, is currently in storage because of the cold weather, and the Eppley Airfield boat did not launch because of too much ice on the river.

— World-Herald News Service

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