January 24, 2011|By Michael Catalini, The Baltimore Sun
Dozens of volunteers and law enforcement officers resumed combing the banks and waters of the Mississippi River near Kenner, La., Monday morning, searching for the body of Brian Reed, brother of Ravens safety Ed Reed.
Beginning about 6:15 a.m. Monday, divers searched while patrols scanned the surface. Using sonar, Texas Equusearch, a volunteer organization that helps families search for missing relatives, located a body Sunday afternoon believed to be Brian Reed's. The body, surrounded by debris, was dislodged as divers tried to recover it, said Tim Miller, the founder and director of Texas Equusearch.
Miller said he felt confident it was Brian Reed because the sonar "got the perfect of image of Brian's body," and that his arms, legs, chest and head could be made out.
Miller said the river's current may have swept the body away from Kenner, a suburb of New Orleans and a short distance from St. Rose, where Brian and Ed Reed are from.
Javona Sanchez, Brian and Ed Reed's sister-in-law, said the family has been in regular contact with Texas Equusearch and local authorities and that her husband and Ed Reed had been with the search party "all day."
"There's a lot of friends and family praying for us. So we're thankful for that. … We're praying and waiting," Sanchez said.
The search will continue indefinitely.
"We're not going to quit until we find him or until we get to that point where we've used up every resource," said, Miller, whose organization has made more than 50 recoveries in about five years.
Lt. Wayne McInnis, Kenner police spokesman, said it would be hard to say when to expect a breakthrough in the search.
"It could be [in] five minutes or five hours," McInnis said.
Kenner police and the St. Charles Parish sheriff were assisting in the recovery, McInnis said Sunday. Texas Equusearch charges neither the family nor law enforcement for its services, Miller said.
"We do this through donations," he said.
Brian Reed has been missing since Jan. 7, when he was seen jumping into the Mississippi River after being pursued by police.
The Reed family, including Ed Reed, was waiting for updates on the recovery attempt, which has been under way for six days. The family is frustrated and anxious, Miller said.
"They want this thing to come to an end. We think we're coming to an end, and in some ways we're starting over," he said.
Ed Reed and his older brother were still on the scene late Monday evening, Sanchez said.
"How do you walk away from this?" Miller said.
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