A 5-year-old boy died and his father is still missing following an inner tube accident on an Ohio river over the weekend, officials said.
According to a news release from Cuyahoga Falls city officials, authorities responded to the Cuyahoga River near the Gorge Metro Park area shortly before 7 p.m. local time on Saturday, June 21, after receiving reports about a man and his son who “had gone under the water while on an inflatable inner tube” near Broad Boulevard.
The boy’s body was recovered on Sunday, June 22, according to Facebook updates.
He was pronounced dead on the scene.
According to NBC affiliate WKYC, the Akron Fire Department (AFD) reported that the child’s body was recovered just before 9:30 a.m. local time and transferred to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The SCMEO’s chief investigator, Gary Guenther, tells PEOPLE that the boy has been identified as Braxton Cross, five.
The search for his father “remains active,” according to authorities. “Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones during this tragic time,” they said in a statement.
Search operations were set to resume on Monday, June 23, at 8 a.m. local time, city officials said. The teams are “fully committed to locating and recovering the missing individual,” they stated.
River levels have been “extremely high,” making several areas “difficult or impossible to access safely,” according to Cuyahoga Falls city officials.
Officials stated that the high water levels and swift currents were “caused by recent heavy rainfall” and “continue to pose significant challenges to the search.”
The AFD, Cuyahoga Falls Fire, the Summit County Water Rescue Team, Metro Parks Rangers, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol are among the agencies that have reportedly assisted with the search.
Trained water rescue personnel, rescue boats, aerial drones, and a patrol helicopter equipped with infrared cameras were all used in the search.
Authorities are urging members of the public “to avoid the Cuyahoga River and the surrounding Gorge Metro Park area due to dangerous water conditions and to avoid disruption of search operations.”
