Search crews looking for missing swimmer on Lake Whatcom
Whatcom County search and rescue personnel are looking Monday morning for a swimmer who went missing Sunday evening in the southern end of Lake Whatcom.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office was called at approximately 7 p.m. Sunday, July 10, for the report of a missing man who went missing while swimming in south Lake Whatcom, spokesperson Deb Slater told The Bellingham Herald in an email Monday, July 11.
South Whatcom Fire Authority crews were called to aid Whatcom County Fire District 18, South Whatcom Chief Rod Topel told The Bellingham Herald.
Private boats and other search and rescue personnel aided in the search, Slater reported.
The emergency crews were needed, Topel said, after a swimmer from a boat could no longer be found.
“It appears somebody jumped off the boat to go swimming, and the boat operators monitoring the swimmer lost sight of them,” Topel said. “They went back and couldn’t locate the swimmer.”
South Whatcom crews cleared the scene at approximately 8:45 p.m., Topel reported, but District 18 crews continued the search, along with the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office and other Whatcom County search groups. Topel said a search boat with sonar had been requested, and the Bellingham Police Department also was on scene with a drone to aid in efforts to find the missing swimmer.
Darkness forced the search to be suspended Sunday night, Slater reported, but search efforts were expected to resume Monday morning.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 9:14 AM.
