MYSTERY surrounds how a young Wagga man feared missing was discovered 7.5 kilometres from where he was last seen swimming in the Murrumbidgee River.
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Shane Skeers, 24, left his home mid-morning on Monday and went for a swim near Wiradjuri Reserve about 7pm that night.
The last communication with Mr Skeers was via a text message at 2pm.
When he had not been seen leaving the river, a full-scale search for Mr Skeers was under way.
Police and other emergency services scoured the water, but suspended the search in poor light.
The search resumed early Tuesday morning, with police, State Emergency Service (SES), Volunteer Rescue Association and paramedics combing the river and banks by boat and on foot from Wiradjuri Reserve down stream.
Mr Skeers was found on the shore 7.5 kilometres down from Wiradjuri Reserve about 10am Tuesday.
It is unknown how Mr Skeers came to be there.
“He was collected by emergency services and taken to Wagga hospital for assessment,” police duty officer, Inspector Mark Murphy, said.
“At this stage, (the circumstances) are not known.
“He had no visible injuries.”
It is believed Mr Skeers was discovered by someone known to him, who was not involved in the formal search.
SES accounted for a large slice of the search party, deploying two teams from Wagga and boat crews from Junee and The Rock to assist with the wide-scale search.
Acting regional development officer Greg Coombes confirmed how Mr Skeers came to be so far from where he went swimming was not yet known.
“The river was running at 1.6 metres this morning (Tuesday) and has the capacity for five metres, so it’s quite low,” Mr Coombes said.
“There is still a fair current flowing, so it would have been two hours floating down the river.”
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said crews responded to the incident about 7.35am.
They remained on scene until Mr Skeers was retrieved.
After undergoing assessment, he was taken by ambulance to Wagga Rural Referral Hospital.
Mr Skeers is in a good condition, according to police.
Investigations into the discovery are continuing.