Search continues for drowning victim's body

Searchers are continuing to look for the body of a college student who presumably drowned more than a week ago in the Missouri River near Elk Point.

"We've still got boats going out every day," Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges said.

Tom Patterson, 23, was trying to help other swimmers make it across the river when he went under on Sept. 4. Originally from Frostburg, Md., Patterson was a student at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Nebraska and South Dakota game, fish and parks departments are involved in the search, and a plane has flown over the area for three days, Limoges said. He encouraged anyone near the Missouri River who thinks they may have spotted the body to call the sheriff's office at (605) 356-2679.

"At this point, the body should have surfaced," he said. "Hopefully someone will see something."