Crews will return to the Delaware River in Bristol Borough Monday morning to resume their search for a 22-year-old Virginia man who disappeared into the murky water Sunday.
Authorities on Sunday evening said crews would continue their search until the body of Marquis Richardson, who was identified by his family, is found.
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What started as a rescue operation quickly switched to a recovery operation, police said.
Sunday morning’s peaceful calm was shattered around 10 a.m. when Richardson, who was spotted by witnesses swimming near a buoy several yards from shore, bobbed up and began screaming. Jerry Shumsomk said he watched in horror as the young man disappeared into the water around 10 a.m.
Within minutes, police, firefighters, fire police and medics flooded the area around the Bristol Wharf to search for Richardson. By late afternoon, fire crews from around Bucks County and state police from New Jersey combed the river searching for Richardson’s body.
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One witness told LevittownNow.com Richardson was swimming in the river as his girlfriend looked on.
“When I got the text I was in church,” Richardson’s aunt Judy Cowan told NBC10. “I just broke down and everybody in church said a prayer for him and for the family. I still believe there’s hope.”
Authorities said Sunday afternoon from a cordoned off wharf that they had little hope Richardson had survived.
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Caution tape kept onlookers back at the base of Mill Street, fire police patrolled the area as boats from various agencies slowly motored up and down the river.
Around 7:15 p.m., the body of a second man who went missing on the Burlington, New Jersey side of the river was recovered. Police said the two incidents appeared unrelated.
Sunday proved to be a deadly day along the Delaware River.
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