Swimmer missing in Missouri River after he was unable to get to shore in strong current

Firefighters searched the Missouri River overnight but could not find a swimmer who had been missing for hours, a fire department spokesman said.

The Missouri Highway Patrol will resume the search for the 25-year-old man on Thursday, said Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins with the Kansas City Fire Department.

Friends called police shortly before 9 p.m. saying the swimmer had entered the Missouri River six hours earlier and was possibly stranded on one of the river’s rock outcroppings, Hopkins said.

The friends said the man couldn’t return to shore due to the strong current. Hopkins said they last had contact with him near a rock outcropping offshore from the ramp.

The fire department responded to the boat ramp at Riverfront Park at 1700 N. Monroe Avenue . There, firefighters deployed three boats along with two drones, Hopkins said.

With the drones’ thermal imaging technology, firefighters searched for the swimmer from the boat ramp east to shortly beyond the city limits. Firefighters manually checked the river, banks, outcroppings, obstructions and islands.

The drones identified multiple areas for boat crews to check, but firefighters didn’t find the man there. The search went on for over four hours.

Just after 1 a.m., firefighters called off the search after being unable to find the swimmer.