Volunteers Were Vital In Search
Divers Stewart Spence and Stephen Spence prepare to search for the missing man Tuesday afternoon after a crew with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks detected an object underwater on sonar. The recovery was made in 44 feet of water.
The body of 42 year-old Ismael Alvarez was discovered near the levee at Enid Lake, marked by the location indicator on the map.
By David Howell
Editor
ENID LAKE – After an exhaustive four-day search for a missing man at Enid Lake ended last Tuesday at 4:55 p.m., both Sheriff Lance Humphreys and EMA Director Frank Hyde praised the dedication from search crews, including numerous volunteers from multiple counties in the massive effort.
The search started late in the afternoon on May 26 after 42-year old Ismael Alvarez of Teasdale went under the water while swimming with friends near the levee at Enid Lake. The body was recovered on May 29 after searchers worked until midnight the day of the drowning and continued from dawn to dusk each day following until he was found. The search effort included multiple boats equipped with sonar, cadaver dogs, divers, a helicopter and lots of man hours.
Humphreys reported the search came to an end on May 29 at 3:42 p.m. after sonar picked up an under water object that appeared to be the body. Just over an hour later divers were able to make the recovery in 44 feet of water.
“We had made dozens and dozens of passes over and around the area during the four day search,” the sheriff explained, adding that the body likely shifted enough to make it visible on the sonar.
Yalobusha County Coroner Ronnie Stark said an autopsy was performed on May 30 and the medical examiner ruled the cause of death was accidental freshwater drowning.
Alvarez, originally from Mexico, had family living in Nashville and many made the trip to Enid Lake Sunday morning. They remained on the bank near McCurdy Point alongside the search crews during the ordeal.
“We were very thankful to have closure for the family,” the sheriff added.
“Yalobusha EMA and sheriff’s department would like to extend our gratitude to everybody that assisted, the Desoto County Sheriffs Department, Panola County EMA, Panola County Search and Rescue, Tallahatchie County EMA, Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer, along with the Yalobusha Search and Rescue Team,” Humphreys said. “A lot of the guys that have been out here working long hours are volunteers, both firemen and members of the search and rescue and dive teams from Yalobusha, Panola and Tallahatchie counties. These guys are missing work at their regular jobs and I cannot stress how critical they are in an operation like this,” the sheriff added.
He also said Larson’s Cash Saver provided lunch and drinks for the searchers and local churches fed the family of Alvarez as they waited on the bank during the search.
