ORONO, Maine — After divers with the Maine Warden Service spent most of Tuesday searching unsuccessfully for a missing Maine Maritime Academy student in the frigid waters of the Penobscot River, officials said the effort to find David Breunig likely would not resume until later this week because of expected bad weather Wednesday.
Working in eddies and backwaters just south of Ayers Island to avoid the swift currents, 10 divers scanned the bottom of the river for any sign of Breunig, 21, of Westbrook, who police said disappeared after leaving a residence in the Crosby Street neighborhood of Orono about 11:30 p.m. Friday. Breunig’s cellphone stopped pinging off a local tower at 12:05 a.m. Saturday, a game warden said previously.
After two full days of fruitless searches conducted on the ground, in the air and in watercraft by as many as 60 law enforcement officials and volunteers Sunday and Monday, the bottom of the swift-flowing river became the logical place to look as hopes for Breunig’s survival dimmed.
“At this stage in the search, where we’re looking in the water, it would be a recovery effort,” Lt. Dan Scott of the Maine Warden Service said Tuesday morning.
Scott said police dogs indicated Monday that “there could be somebody in the water” near the island. Game wardens told WGME that Breunig may have fallen off a train trestle into the river.
“Our efforts today are focused on the Penobscot River, some of the eddies along there,” Scott said, as divers worked behind him.
The only search that was conducted Tuesday in Orono was in and along the river, Orono police Chief Josh Ewing said.
Breunig’s family has been briefed several times per day about the search, which started Saturday, Scott said. A group of about 30 family members and friends, many of whom had been crying, made their way to the water’s edge at noon and were told by Scott about what the dive teams were doing.
Even though the underwater search made it appear Breunig won’t be found alive, Scott said, “until we actually find David, we are not ruling anything out.”
Diving conditions were not ideal, with freezing temperatures, high winds and fast-moving water, Scott said.
“The conditions are extreme,” Scott said. “They have to worry about their gear freezing up, their air systems freezing up. As soon as they come out of the water, all of their wet gear seems to freeze up, so it’s a very technical dive.”
Divers first went into the water about 10 a.m., and their second dive started just before noon. They ended the day as the sun went down.
Scott described the work as “free diving, some drift diving — just trying to basically grid the bottom of the river of the area that we’re able to get to, to see if we can find any evidence of the individual.”
Union Street, which runs along the river’s edge and is separated from Ayers Island by a channel, was closed to traffic Tuesday morning as crews prepared for the dive. A boat landing along the road was used as a mobile command center.
Wednesday’s predicted inclement weather is expected to hamper search efforts, Scott said.
“Due to weather conditions and predicted rainfall we most likely will not be back in the morning,” he said late Tuesday afternoon.
Future searches planned for later this week will only include aircraft, Scott said.
Breunig’s family released a statement Tuesday saying they are thankful to all who have helped.
“We are overwhelmed by the love and support of our friends and the Westbrook, Maine Maritime and University of Maine communities,” the one-paragraph statement from the family states. “We ask that you keep DJ in your prayers and we thank you for respecting our privacy.”