First responders continue to search for a young man who is presumed to have drowned in the Potomac River near Great Falls Sunday evening. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue launched several boats Monday morning to carry on the search for a swimmer who went missing at around 6:15 p.m. Sunday, according to the department’s spokesman Pete Piringer. The man was trying to swim from Maryland to Virginia when he got separated from his group, Piringer said. “We’ve been commencing a search ever since, with boats in the water on the trail, using sonar equipment, of course, aerial observation from the U.S. Park Police helicopter visual,” Piringer said Sunday evening. “We have boats from Fairfax and Montgomery County in the water.” Crews searched by land, boat and air in the area of Sandy Landing, where the man was last seen. Altogether, eight boats and 45 fire department personnel from Montgomery County and Fairfax County came together to look for the man. But they weren’t able to find the swimmer, and search efforts were pulled back at around 9 p.m., resuming after sunrise Monday. In addition to Montgomery County’s boats, one U.S. Park Police helicopter is also helping in the search Monday. Piringer said he expects additional boats to be deployed in the afternoon.

Potomac River search continues … this morning involves several @mcfrs swift water boats & crew(s) and USPark Police Eagle 1 helicopter, to include several other swift water boat teams this afternoon. Search teams utilizing sonar & thermal imaging equipment to aid in the search. https://t.co/d9CUfCYqml pic.twitter.com/jJWohKyHun

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) June 15, 2026