Members of the Elyria Police and Fire Departments, the Elyria Water Rescue Team, and other local agencies are searching the Black River for a missing teenager.
The search began shortly after 8 a.m., when Elyria Police reported that a 24-year-old man had entered the police headquarters, claiming that his 16-year-old friend, Vincent Pabon, had fallen into the river behind the station and had not resurfaced.
According to investigators, the man and teen accessed a location near the river via a trail behind the station and were drinking alcohol at the time.
The man told officers that he attempted to pull the male teen out of the water but fell in himself. He said he eventually made it back to the riverbank, but there was no sign of the teen.
“We are communicating with the 24-year-old. We’re still figuring out the exact timeline of activities to make sure we don’t miss anything,” Elyria Police Capture. Bill Lantz said.
The Elyria Fire Department and other local agencies searched the river using divers, boats, sonar, and thermal imaging drones.
“It is my understanding that the area was accessed as safely as possible using the equipment and resources available to them. From there, we are reviewing the information we have and determining how we can continue to deploy resources,” Lantz stated.
He described the area where the teen reportedly fell into the river as a difficult environment. He explained that the water is 20-25 feet deep downstream from the waterfall on the East Falls Riverwalk, and search teams had to navigate obstacles.
“It looks like an old structure or building, with a concrete overhang that has water underneath it. “The divers did their best to get under that and assess it,” Lantz told News 5. “We’ve not made any headway with locating the juvenile.”
He stated that Lorain County Metroparks is assisting in the search of the river further downstream.
The teen’s family told officers that they pinged the teen’s phone to the location where he fell around 4:30 a.m.
Police are working with the cell phone company to try to ping the teen’s phone again.
According to an Elyria Police press release, the 24-year-old man has been charged with tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony, and contributing to the unruliness of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor.
According to police, additional charges may be forthcoming.
Lantz confirmed that after 12 hours of searching on Thursday, they were done for the day.
Search teams will return at 8 a.m. on Friday.
