BALTIMORE – The Coast Guard is searching this evening for a diver that reportedly went missing in the Potomac River.
The Coast Guard received a report at about 3 p.m. that a diver with the Fairfax County State Police Marine Unit went missing during a training mission near Gunston Cove in the Potomac River just south of Fort Belvoir, Va.
The crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter James Rankin was conducting maintenance on navigational aids in the area at the time and launched a small boat crew to assist in the search. Search and rescue coordinators at Coast Guard Sector Baltimore also directed Coast Guard Station Washington, D.C., to launch two 25-foot response boat crews and diverted a rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., to join the search effort.
Additional assets involved in the search are Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, two Virginia State Police helicopter crews and a National Park Service helicopter crew.
The name of the diver is not being released pending next of kin notifications.
