Body of missing swimmer pulled from Yough River
By TAYLOR BROWN
tbrown@yourmvi.com
A West Mifflin man has died after being reported missing Sunday near the Smithton Beach area of the Youghiogheny River.
Rostraver Township Police Chief Greg Resetar said the department received a call around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Resetar said Craig Allen Helsel was last seen swimming with friends.
“His friends indicated he was a strong swimmer and when they noticed he was not with the group, thought he had went off on his own,” Resetar said. “They waited for a few hours and then reported him missing when they suspected something may have been wrong.”
Search units from the Greensburg Dive Team, Greensburg Bloodhounds, Collinsburg Fire Department, Rostraver Central Fire Department and Westmoreland Drone Team got to the scene around 9 p.m. to assist police in the search.
Crews cleared the area around midnight because of weather conditions.
The search for Helsel resumed at 9 a.m. Monday with help from the state police aviation unit.
“Almost immediately, with the help of PSP, the helicopter discovered the body,” Resetar said.
Helsel was found in the middle of the river about 30 yards downstream from where he was last seen.
Members of the Greensburg Dive Team and Collinsburg Swift Water Rescue Team recovered his body.
Rostraver West-Newton Emergency Medical Services and the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office also assisted at the scene.
A cause and manner of death has not yet been determined.
