Rescue Effort Ends At Reservoir for Missing WSSC Worker

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - After a night and day of searching, rescuers have given up hope of finding alive a maintenance worker at the Tridelphia Reservoir. The 800-acre lake lies between Montgomery and Howard Counties. It is part of the water supply for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), which serves customers in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties.

77 square miles of property surround the reservoir, much of it a recreation area, with parts open to hiking, fishing, and hunting. Deer abound in the thick woodland.

The body of a deer was reported in the reservoir, Friday, and a man who works for WSSC went out in a boat to recover the carcass. When he failed to return Friday afternoon, concerned workers called rescue personnel, who searched into the evening.

The search resumed for much of the day Saturday, with fire-rescue personnel from Montgomery County, Howard County, Maryland State Police and the state Department of Natural Resources participating.

An assistant fire chief in Montgomery County confirmed that rescuers found the man's boat, and a deer carcass was in it. Ominously, they also found a personal floatation device in the water, but no one was connected to it. Late Saturday afternoon, search efforts ended.

A spokeswoman for WSSC says the agency is now consulting with rescuers to determine what assets to bring in for a recovery operation. That probably means divers will enter the Tridelphia Reservoir in the next day or so.