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Dive teams have resumed their search for the body of a Malvern teenager who is presumed dead after jumping in to a water-filled quarry known as a “blue hole.”
As search teams scoured the Baroid mines near Magnet Cove in Hot Spring County Tuesday--looking for any sign of 18-year-old Steven Lindsey--his brother waited nearby.
(Jason Staggs, Victim's Brother) “We're just trying to do the best we can, which really, it kind of feels weird, because it hasn't set in yet, because they are just looking for his body and stuff. Hard to believe it.”
Authorities began searching for Steven around 10:30 a.m. Monday, after getting a report that he jumped off a 50-foot-tall cliff, and cramped up while swimming.
Rescuers were not able to save him before he went under.
Tuesday, sonar equipment was brought in--but with some parts of the mine as deep as 600 feet, they have not been able to find the victim.
While “blue holes”--which can be found all around Arkansas--may look inviting, there are hidden dangers.
(Lt. Jim Kulesa, Lonoke Co. Sheriff's Office) “You see rocks. You think, I can jump off that into the water. You're out in really hot weather, and you hit the really cold water and it's going to have an effect on your body. You cramp and possibly drown.”
In fact, Hot Spring County authorities say the water on the surface at the Baroid mines was 70 degrees--but at 100 feet, it dropped to just 40 degrees.
(Kulesa) “It can be deceptive. You don't know what the structure looks like underneath. It may look shallow, and you take a few steps--and all of a sudden you might be in 10 feet of water. So again it's deceiving.”
On Tuesday, searchers discovered that some pockets in the walls of the Baroid mines where Steven disappeared are 200 feet deep.
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