Search entered
two-week mark
Saturday

By Misti Drew
Tribune-Courier News Editor
mdrew@tribunecourier.com

ROCKY POINT – Blustery winds and cold weather showed no sign of mercy for search and recovery workers on Saturday as the effort reached its two-week mark.

Teams have been looking for 69 year-old Robert Bramlett of Livingston Count since Nov. 28. Family members say Bramlett left to go fishing, but never returned home.

Curt Curtner, Chief of the Marshall County Rescue Squad reports he and his team joined with numerous other agencies this past weekend in another full-scale effort, continuing to utilize mutual aid resources as long as they hold out.

Of how long the searchwill continue, Curtner said the rescue squad took action to address time limits following the triple drowning and six-week recovery effort that took place earlier this year.

Curtner said the rescue squad followed the Coast Guard’s lead, voting a three-day limit to searches into their bylaws.

But Curtner added that while officially the efforts are limited to three days, “We’ll stay and search as long as there are people to volunteer. It’s hard to just walk away.”

Curtner said nearly 40 such volunteers turned out on Sunday to aid in the recovery effort.

Canine teams from Missouri and Tennessee also joined in the search. “It’s good to have new sets of eyes out here,” Curtner said, “but it’s just as important to have a few new noses in the area, as well.”

Boat patrols, including those equipped with side-scan sonars, will continue on through the week. Aerial searches also began yesterday.

Curtner said there are more than 5,000 acres of water to cover, and with no visual confirmation on Bramlett’s location from eye-witnesses, recovery volunteers say it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.

As long as good weather holds out, Curtner said the search will continue.

Recovery volunteers have already lost several days to inclement weather. Operations come to a halt when the weather turns.

“It takes a toll on our equipment,” Curtner said. “We tried to work a couple of days, but it destroys our dragging operations and affects our ability to get good imagining from sonars.”

Curtner said the safety of those involved is also a concern.

“We have to, first and foremost, consider the safety of our volunteers. The last thing we would want to do is compound this situation with another tragedy.”

Crews are utilizng cold weather gear purchased earlier this year by the fiscal court to keep warm. Curtner said they have meant the difference in being able to stay on the water and having to pack up and go home.

Crews are continuing to follow up on incoming leads and have been covering new ground daily. Curtner said they are committed to “seeing this through.”