Published Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Herald Staff Writer
The body of an Edinburg fisherman who was reported missing Sunday night was found at about 12:15 p.m. Monday on the north shore of the Shenango River, near the Shenango Recreation Area at Shenango River Lake.
Throughout the morning Monday, family and friends of 26-year-old Randy "D.J." Dando waited on nearby picnic tables and on the Kelly Road bridge while divers and dogs searched for him.
Dando was reported missing at 9:50 p.m. Sunday after he failed to hook up with the friends he was fishing with, said Hermitage Police Chief Edward Stanton and Pete O'Connell, Resource Manager for the Army Corps of Engineers.
Sunday night, rescuers from Hermitage and Sharpsville police and fire departments searched on land and state police and Stat Medevac crews took to the air in helicopters to look for him; dive teams from Jamestown and Clark volunteer fire departments, another helicopter and dogs from several divisions of Canine Aided Emergency Search And Rescue team were brought in Monday morning, said Hermitage Fire Chief Robert Goeltz.
At 11 a.m., the Army Corps of Engineers closed the gates at Shenango Dam, which lowered the water level in the river by a foot and slowed the current, making rescue efforts less hazardous, O'Connell said. Dando's body was found a little over an hour later.
Dando was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:45 p.m. by Mercer County Coroner J. Bradley McGonigle III. Although McGonigle is awaiting results of an autopsy and toxicology tests before ruling on a cause of death, Stanton said Dando likely drowned.
According to witnesses, Dando was wearing hip-waders, Stanton said. He surmised Dando slipped and the hip-waders filled with water.
O'Connell urged other anglers at Shenango River Lake to wear life jackets.
"The best way anyone can improve their safety is to wear an approved life jacket or flotation device when wading to access the (fishing) holes," he said, adding that many life jackets are relatively lightweight and styles are availalbe that don't hamper fishing.