Teen Missing After Rafting Accident

Friday, May 18th 2007, 4:36 pm

By: News On 6

OOLOGAH, Okla. (AP) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Oklahoma Lake Patrol and others searched Friday for an Oologah-Talala High School senior who went missing after he and two other students were in a rafting accident on Oologah Lake.

Emergency responders were called out to the area about 2:30 p.m. after one of the boys got his friend to shore. The boy then ran more than half-mile to the closest residence to call 911, said Northwest Rogers County Fire Chief David Puckett.

The two teens, 18-year-old Bryce Underhill and a sophomore student, told authorities they saw the third member of their party, 18-year-old Harrison Lodes, in the fast-moving water, then could no longer see him.

Corps officials shut down the spillway to end the rapid flow of water and allow levels to recede downstream where the flow enters the Verdigris River, officials with the Oologah-Talala Emergency Medical Services District said.

The students had attended a school-sponsored picnic at Oologah Lake following Friday's graduation rehearsal. After they were released from the rehearsal and the picnic, the trio went on a rafting outing on their own, officials said.

Oologah-Talala graduation is to be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mustang Stadium.

The Corps and Lake Patrol launched search craft, firefighters set up downstream from the spillway and officers used four-wheelers to search the area -- a mixture of fields and brush land -- near the water, officials said.

Watch the video: Authorities Search For A Teen Missing After Accident On Oologah Lake