Search halted for boy in river

Elyria -- After six hours, a half-dozen dive teams were forced to break off their search for the body of a 12-year-old boy who slipped under the water Saturday afternoon while playing on rocks on the banks of the Black River.

Elyria police and fire officials said the youth was playing with another boy at the base of a 40-foot waterfall near Washington Avenue about 2 p.m. The other boy saw what happened and ran for help.

Ron Brlas, assistant Elyria fire chief, said divers used sonar in attempts to locate the boy, whose name had not been released Saturday evening, and were forced to call off the search at nightfall.

"We did our best but unfortunately we were not able to locate him," Brlas said. "Our biggest concern was that so much debris gets washed down river, it really makes it difficult for divers to swim in without getting caught in all the debris."

Brlas said the search will resume today.