Girl, man missing in river near Philadelphia

July 04, 2009 07:39 am

— PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A girl fell off a boat Friday evening into the Delaware River, prompting two men to jump into the water to rescue her and setting off an intense search, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
One of the men got out of the river, but the other went missing early Saturday. Both he and the girl had not been seen hours after they went into the water near the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.
"They're still searching and will continue to search as long as the possibility of survival is there," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Crystalynn Kneen, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
The three were on the river the night before Independence Day, but it was unclear if the boating trip was related to the holiday.
Kneen said no one else was on the 16-foot recreational boat and she did not know what relationship the girl was to the two men. Neither the men nor the girl was wearing a life jacket, Kneen said.
The river temperature was 75 degrees and Kneen said the boating conditions were not dangerous at the time the girl fell. It was unclear if she knew how to swim.
The bridge crosses the river between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Philadelphia police and New Jersey state police also were involved in the search.