First responders recover body of man missing in Potomac River since Tuesday
Man was found ‘not too far away’ from where he was last seen
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Danny Chung-A-FungJuly 30, 2026 3:07 p.m. | Updated: July 30, 2026 3:11 p.m.
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Crews from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) and Virginia on Thursday recovered the body of the man who was last seen in the Potomac River on Tuesday, according to an MCFRS spokesperson.
A social media post from MCFRS Assistant Chief Dave Pazos said that at around 11:30 a.m., MCFRS crews found the man “not too far away from the area where he went missing.”
Pazos told Bethesda Today that the search efforts focused closely on the area the man was reported missing on Tuesday. This area is also where other individuals have “lost the ability to stay above surface,” according to Pazos.
The man’s body was recovered with the help of sonar and camera technology, and was transferred to the Montgomery County police. He was later transferred to the state medical examiner, according to Pazos.
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The family has been notified of the death, according to Pazos.
Pazos said it is “tragic” that this will be the third drowning in the Potomac River in four months.
This incident began when a man in his 20s entered the Potomac River on the Virginia side Tuesday afternoon, according to radio transmissions.
Crews from MCFRS and Virginia were on the river searching Tuesday until it was called off due to impending severe weather, MCFRS Assistant Chief Dan Ogren told Bethesda Today on Tuesday. Ogren said that nine boats, a K-9 unit, a sonar radar and an underwater drone were involved in search efforts, which lasted close to four hours before being paused. Ogren said that crews had spent four or five additional hours on Wednesday on the water, and were ultimately unsuccessful in locating the man.
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Ogren says it is not unusual for a person to remain stuck below the surface of the water. Some parts of the river are uneven, rocky and full of debris, and some parts are more than 70 feet deep.
Ogren also emphasized that it is not safe for anyone to swim in the Potomac.
“It’s dangerous to do it, but people will still do it,” he told Bethesda Today.
Swimming in many areas of the Potomac River, especially near Great Falls, is prohibited, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer has told Bethesda Today in the past.
“Swimming is prohibited in those areas for good reason,” Piringer said. “It doesn’t matter where you go; the currents are always a challenge. They’re more dangerous and stronger down near the Great Falls.”
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This search is the latest in a series of emergencies on the Potomac River in recent months. Earlier this summer, a 20-year-old Towson University student and a 16-year-old boy died in separate incidents in the river.
— Elia Griffin contributed to this story.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine