Search continues for 11-year-old missing in Cedar River

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office continued its search Friday for an 11-year-old girl who went into the Cedar River Wednesday near Palisades-Kepler State Park.

A Thursday evening tweet from the Sheriff’s Office said Thursday’s search efforts, which were conducted using boats and divers, yielded no results, and the search would continue Friday.

The girl, Zyah Thomas of Cedar Rapids, was visiting the beach Wednesday afternoon with her family. She was playing in the water when she began to struggle, according to Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner.

Gardner said that on Wednesday and Thursday the search included personnel from several other first-responder agencies and more than a dozen deputies.

On Friday, there were eight deputies on scene. The search was being conducted using boats and a helicopter.

Thomas is the second person this year to seemingly disappear into the Cedar River.

In May, a Cedar Rapids city employee’s truck was found submerged in the river near Ellis Road. The man, Erik Spaw, has not yet been found. Water rescue crews from the Cedar Rapids Fire Department spent several days on the water searching for him, and as of the beginning of this month were still sending out search crews periodically.

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