Search continues for missing teen presumed drowned in Eno River Rock Quarry in Durham
The search for a local teen who disappeared while swimming at Eno River Rock Quarry is now considered a recovery operation, not a rescue effort, an official said.
Divers on Wednesday were sent to an “area of interest based on drone footage” before operations suspended that night., said Katie Hall, spokeswoman for the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. Searchers at about 8 a.m. Thursday were preparing to continue their efforts.
The missing teenager — identified as Nicklaus Brown, 18, by ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner — graduated last week from Eno River Academy (formerly Orange Charter School) in Hillsborough, said Lisa Bair, the school’s executive director.
He was on the school’s swim and baseball teams and was set to attend the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in the fall.
Though Eno River Academy is out of session, the building opened Wednesday for the school community to gather and meet with bereavement counselors.
The teen was with a friend Tuesday night when he jumped into the water from an embankment, Hall said. He resurfaced but later went under the water and wasn’t seen again.
Crews responded to the scene at about 5:25 p.m. Tuesday and searched for Brown for more than four hours. Crews from the state park, Durham County and Orange County helped.
The quarry is in Eno River State Park. Hall said park rangers are at the quarry each day and discourage people from swimming there, where it’s unclear what lies below the water.
“The reason it’s dangerous is because it’s extremely deep,” Hall said. “The water gets extremely cold below the surface.”
A localwiki page on the quarry describes the 4-acre area as “somewhat treacherous.” It says there is no place to stand in the 60-foot deep, abandoned stone pit and that even confident swimmers should bring something that floats.
The last drowning at the quarry happened in 2015, she said.
This story was originally published May 29, 2019 at 8:17 AM.
