Missing swimmer identified as Germantown man, graduate of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High

Search continues in Potomac River for 20-year-old who disappeared Sunday evening

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June 16, 2026 12:15 p.m.

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Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews and other emergency responders are continuing their search Tuesday for 20-year-old Nazir Bell of Germantown, who went missing after struggling while swimming in the Potomac River on Sunday evening.  

After searching Sunday evening and Monday, MCFRS rescue teams resumed their search Tuesday morning for Bell, who is presumed to have drowned. MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said on social media that MCFRS crews would be deploying boats to continue the search.  

Bell is a graduate of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High and is currently attending Towson University, according to a flyer posted on social media by his family.  

“Nazir is a kind, smart and ambitious young man with a bright future,” said the flyer, which was included in a MCFRS social media post. “His family, friends, and community are desperately asking for your help to bring him home.”  

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Bell’s family told Fox 5 through tears that the situation was a tragedy.  

“He went out with his friends and he told me he was going to Virginia and I didn’t know that yesterday was gonna be my last day,” Bell’s mother said about seeing her missing son.  

Around 6:15 p.m. Sunday, local law enforcement agencies and MCFRS crews, including the department’s swift water rescue team, were dispatched to the area near Billy Goat Trail A and Sandy Landing along the Potomac River following a report of a swimmer in distress, Piringer told Bethesda Today on Monday morning. 

“We were able to get there pretty quickly and deploy boats pretty quickly,” Piringer said. 

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Rescue crews and first responders, including Montgomery County police and U.S. Park Police, searched the area for several hours on Sunday and stopped around sunset at 8:30 p.m., according to Piringer. The search continued Monday. 

The man was among a group of “young adults” who had been swimming in the river across from Sandy Landing, which is where Bell was last seen, according to Piringer. While swimming, Bell called out for help, went underwater and never resurfaced. 

On Sunday, crews searched around the Potomac River’s shorelines, using sonar and thermal imaging, Piringer said. Six rescue boats crisscrossed the waterway, double- and triple-checking areas for Bell. A search helicopter flew above and in total, about 50 people assisted but were not successful in finding him. 

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine