Water search for missing men suspended for the night, body of 10-year-old boy located earlier
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The body of a 10-year-old child was located Tuesday, but his father and a good Samaritan are still missing after rushing water swept them away Monday.
Mouhammad Arman Rashidullah's body was found near Pulaski Park at noon, several miles from where the three fell first into the water near 27th and Loomis.
The drainage tunnel funnels into the Kinnickinnic River, which then winds its way through the city to the Hoan Bridge. A deputy fire chief says those drainage tunnels are designed to move a lot of water out of the city very quickly. They're working well, and that's making it difficult to find the remaining victims and bring closure to their families.
Tuesday evening Deputy Fire Chief Erich Roden said, "We are continuing our operations through the evening tonight." He said they would continue the search until dark, until it's unsafe, or until they found something.
The search began Tuesday morning for the child and two adults that were swept away in rushing water the evening before.
At 9 a.m. they cleared the tunnels where they first went missing.
At the time, Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said, "It was a relief to not find anybody in that position. But it does leave the anguish open-ended here."
The search then moved further down the waterway toward Pulaski Park. Just before noon, a discovery was made.
Chief Lipski said, "We have located, and have removed from the scene, a 10-year-old boy. Deceased. Located in the river."
The body of 10-year-old Mouhammad Arman Rashidullah was found.
Mouhammad would have turned 11 July 4. He was the oldest of four children; his youngest brother was born just two weeks ago.
But the two men who jumped in after Mouhammad were not found. They were identified as Mouhammad's father Rashidullah Abdul Hashim and their neighbor Zakaria Gonumeah.
Yahya Dildar, a representative of Milwaukee's Rohingya community, knows the family and spoke on their behalf. He said, "When the father saw the kid go in, the father tried to help him, and the father also hit the water."
Search crews rotated often throughout the day Tuesday as dangerous heat compounded the difficulty.
Chief Lipski said, "This is a horrible day. But it's not going to ever be as horrible as it is for the family that you see there."
Throughout the afternoon, multiple searches were conducted simultaneously as crews scoured the depth and breadth of the Kinnickinnic River. Some areas were searched twice as water levels fluctuated.
In the afternoon the fire department expanded the search to areas closer to the lake. Following the current they used three boats in the deeper water.
Deputy Chief Roden said, "One is equipped with side-scan sonar so we're able to get a birds-eye view of the water, if you will."
If the sonar detects an object similar in size or shape to a body, dive crews go down to investigate. But so far, no hits.
Deputy Chief Roden said, "There are a lot of twists and turns of the river in this part of town, a lot of areas for debris to get snagged. And we search every one of those areas."
More heat is expected Wednesday, and a chance for more rain could again create challenging conditions. But crews plan to resume the search Wednesday morning.