Search and rescue crews are still trying to locate a 28-year-old Wagga man who went missing at Wagga Beach on Sunday evening.
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The father-of-five was swimming at the beach with his partner and five children about 8:30pm when he went underwater and did not resurface.
Police, the Wagga Volunteer Rescue Association, the State Emergency Service, and NSW Ambulance’s swift water rescue team searched until about 11pm on Sunday, when the darkness forced them to stop for the night before resuming early on Monday morning.
Emergency services were joined by four specialist police divers from Sydney, who arrived at 11:30am on Monday.
Acting Inspector Maggie Deall said there were no updates as of 2pm.
“We have specialist police on the ground and in the water looking for the gentleman, who is unfortunately still missing at the moment,” Acting Inspector Deall said.
“We don't know what's happened until we locate the gentleman one way or another, but we never give up hope until we find them.”
SES Junee deputy local controller Brett Porter said extra crews had been brought in to relieve rescue teams throughout the search.
“We've already conducted a search of the river bank on both sides, looking for any signs of the missing person or anything he may have had, but nothing has been found,” Mr Porter said.
“It all depends on what the conditions were in the river at the time – it is possible for a body or a person to travel up to a couple hundred metres down the river.”
Acting Inspector Deall said that while the man had consumed a couple of social drinks, police did not believe he was heavily intoxicated.
“We have no indication that anything was going on other than that the gentleman was enjoying a very hot day by the river, decided to have a swim, and unfortunately got into trouble,” she said.
The search of the river and its surrounds will continue on Tuesday.
Acting Inspector Deall asked for the community’s cooperation during the search mission, which could go for a couple of days.
“NSW waterways is closing the river for us, and they're manning points along the river,” she said.
“I would ask that the Wagga community to stay out of the area and give us space to do what we need to do.”
Meanwhile, the widow of a man who drowned at Wagga Beach just over 12 months ago has reached out in support for the missing man’s loved ones.
Victorian man Peter Abd-El-Kaddous was visiting family in Wagga in December 2016 when he drowned.
His widow Fleur Abd-El-Kaddous said her heart went out to the missing man’s family.
“The waiting until they find his body is probably the hardest part, because once they go missing there's not much hope they're going to find them, unless they get them in the first couple of minutes,” Ms Abd-El-Kaddous said.
“The best thing is to try and stay positive about the life that they had with him and try to remember all the positives so they don’t get too depressed or down.”