The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies and numerous rescue crews responded to a call for help early this (Thursday) morning, about a man who was floating on the East Nishnabotna River who had become unresponsive. The 9-1-1 call to the PageComm Dispatch Center came in at around 1:12-a.m., from a 44-year old female. The woman said she had been floating with a 53-year old man on the river since 8-p.m. Wednesday. She said that they were north of Essex.

Numerous agencies were dispatched to this large area. It was determined from the phone calls that the female and the male were on the East Nishnabotna River between the bridges on 110th ST and D Avenue,  north of Essex. Due to accessibility issues associated with the area, the rescue operation took some time, as there is no boat access within several miles.

When the woman and her companion were located at around 3-a.m. Thursday (today), the man was deceased. The Page County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in the search /recovery effort by the Essex Fire & Rescue, Red oak Fire & Rescue, Corning Fire & Rescue, Mt. Ayr Fire & Rescue, Clarinda Fire & rescue, Shenandoah Police Department, Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Montgomery County EMA, Page County EMA, Midwest Regional Dive Team, Iowa DNR as well as local citizens with knowledge of the river in the area.

The incident remains under investigation at this time. The name of the male was being withheldpending notification of relatives. More information will be released at a later date.