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WILLARD BAY — Search and rescue crews searched Willard Bay Monday but had no luck locating a fisherman who disappeared Sunday night.
Several agencies, including dive crews from Box Elder and Weber counties, assisted in Monday's searches, even as weather continued to be an obstacle.
The missing fisherman, Matthew Rasmussen, 45, of Morgan County, launched from the marina about 8 a.m. Sunday, according to the Division of State Parks and Recreation. Around 8:30 p.m., Rasmussen's family reported him overdue. The angler's boat was found Sunday night with the trolling motor running, but there was no sign of him.
Even though the winds were pretty light Monday, it was enough to make the waters choppy, making for low visibility during the rescue efforts.
"When our dive crews went down, they couldn't see more than an inch in front of them," Utah State Parks Sgt. Tony Santora said.
Utah State Parks officials called Rasmussen an "avid fisherman" and former longtime employee of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District.
It took searchers several hours to comb a small area outside of the marina by sonar. Since the bottom of the bay is mostly flat, divers check out anything that stands out.
"So now we are expanding our search to the south, where (Rasmussen's) boat was found," Santora said.
Four boats searched near the north marina, aided by a Life Flight helicopter for at least part of the afternoon.
"You really don't know how long this could take,” Santora said. “We're hoping that our boats start to go out, pick something up fairly rapidly, but we just don't know."
Crews planned to resume search efforts Tuesday morning.
Parks workers asked search volunteers to stay away from the area, saying it would make emergency workers' efforts safer.
Contributing: Shara Park
