Search continues at Hervey Bay for missing swimmer

The search for a man seen disappearing under water at Hervey Bay took a grim turn on Monday when police admitted it was unlikely he was still alive.

Police continued to search for a swimmer on Monday after he was reported to have disappeared under water at Hervey Bay on the weekend.

A paddleboarder reported to authorities seeing a man go underwater and failing to resurface while swimming about 20m off the beach near Churchill Street, Urangan at 3pm on Saturday.

She reported what she had seen to police who, with the aid of lifesavers from Hervey Bay Surf Life Saving Club, scoured the area with jet skis, boats and drones throughout the weekend in a failed attempt to locate the man.

The RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Helicopter was also brought in.

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“The witness is adamant that she saw an elderly man with grey hair swimming about 6m away from her,” Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford said.

Police are investigating the disappearance of a man off waters near Churchill Road, Urangan on Saturday afternoon, October 21.

“At first she thought it was a turtle but as she got closer she could see it was a man about 6m away.

“She looked in the area for about 15 minutes for the man before contacting her mum who was on the beach who then contacted the police.

“Conditions at the time of the incident were very good and clear.

“We are now in a recovery phase of the rescue operation” he said, conceding that experts indicated it was unlikely a person could survive for that period of time in the water.

The search team had found “turtles and dugongs” but no sign of the man or his personal belongings.

He asked for any witnesses who maybe have been either swimming or on the beach at the time to come forward.

Social media was awash with comments from locals on community pages speculating about what may have led to the search.

Originally published as Search continues at Hervey Bay for missing swimmer