Search underway for missing 18-year-old in Niagara River Gorge, father believes son is still alive
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — Multiple law enforcement agencies are searching for an 18-year-old man who fell into the Niagara River while fishing in a restricted area of the lower Niagara River Gorge Wednesday morning.
New York State Park Police said it received a report around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday of a man in the river near the bottom of the Whirlpool stairs, between Whirlpool State Park and Devil’s Hole State Park.
The missing young man has been identified as Aung Hla of Buffalo. He had just graduated from Kenmore West High School this summer.
Witnesses told investigators Hla was fishing on the rocks with five other individuals when he fell into the swift water and struggled to stay afloat before disappearing beneath the surface.
Capt. Chris Rola of New York State Park Police said the area, while scenic, poses serious dangers.
“The trail is a beautiful area. It’s a marked trail, and while it’s a beautiful area, it’s a very dangerous area if you get into the areas that are restricted, and those rocks that the individual was on is a restricted area,” Rola said.
Rola said the terrain has complicated search efforts.
“Searching is difficult in that area. While there are stairs that go down to the bottom of it, portions of the trail are washed out. So in a situation like this, we can walk the trail from Devil’s Hole to Whirlpool State Park, and that’s something our patrols did immediately,” Rola said.
Hla’s father, Maung Hla, said he received a call from police around the same time the report came in.
WATCH: Search underway for missing 18-year-old in Niagara River Gorge
Search underway for missing teen in Niagara River Gorge
“The police call me 10. I go to work in 10 o’clock. Police call, hey, your son and then fell water. I go look right away, call my wife and my daughter. So, police say, I help you find your son, and we cannot find him,” Maung Hla said.
Despite the circumstances, Maung Hla said he can feel it in his heart that his son is not gone.
“My belief is that my son and somewhere in a stick like this, and they hold their hand and then somebody coming, help,” Maung Hla said.
The search is a multi-agency, bi-national effort involving the U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Park Police, Erie and Niagara County Aviation Units, and the Niagara Falls Fire Department. Investigators have been searching both on foot and by air on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border.
Rola said the thoughts of law enforcement are with those closest to Hla.
“Our hearts go out to the family and the friends, and we hope that we have a positive outcome in the search,” Rola said.
Authorities have not said what caused Hla to enter the water. The search remains active.
Anyone with information is asked to contact New York State Police at (716) 278-1777.
