Dive crews are still searching for a missing kayaker in the Schuylkill River. Police say the 70-year-old man from Montgomery County was fishing in Upper Merion Township on Monday but he never came home. NBC10’s Deanna Durante has the latest on the search.
The search resumed on Thursday for a man who went missing while fishing and kayaking in the Schuylkill River in Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania.
Investigators said the man -- identified by friends as 70-year-old Tony Luongo -- traveled to the Upper Merion Township boathouse on 400 Falls View Drive on Monday, April 29, to launch his kayak and go fishing.
Luongo posted a selfie photo on his social media account around 12:40 p.m. Monday while traveling upstream from the boathouse, according to investigators.
Around 2 p.m. that day, Upper Merion Police received a call from a resident who lives about 1.1 miles upstream from the boathouse. The resident said he heard a man calling for help in the area of the woods and Schuylkill River between 1:50 p.m. and 1:55 p.m.
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Upper Merion Police responded to the wooded area but couldn't find or locate anyone. Around 4 p.m. that day, the Upper Merion Crew Team launched their boats from the boathouse and traveled upstream. They did not observe anything out of the ordinary at the time, however.
On Tuesday, April 30, around 2:15 p.m., West Norriton Police contacted Upper Merion Police after Luongo's friends reported him missing.
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"Tony's like clockwork," Tom Jacquot, a friend of Luongo's, told NBC10. "He goes out and comes home at a certain time. Takes care of the animals. Well, Monday night he didn't come home at four o'clock."
Upper Merion police officers then located Luongo's Toyota RAV4 at the boathouse. Police officers, firefighters and other county emergency servicemembers began searching along the river banks while multiple boats and drones searched areas above and below the dam.
Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Luongo's kayak was found at the base of the dam, near the middle of the river. More of his items were found in a downed tree about 1,000 feet upstream from the boathouse.
The search continued Wednesday and Thursday. Luongo remains missing, however.
Police said Luongo was last seen wearing a grey hat, a light-colored and possibly blue shirt and grey shorts. He was also wearing a bright orange personal floatation device, investigators said.
If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Upper Merion Township Police at 610-265-3232.
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