No sign of missing man despite large search effort
FORT ERIE — The search for a missing Niagara Falls man has turned up empty so far.
Joe Reinhart, described as an avid fisherman, has been missing since Tuesday after his 14-foot boat washed ashore unmanned in the area of Wanakah Beach in Hamburg, N.Y., at about 2 p.m.
According to Niagara police, Reinhart, 37, left from the Crystal Beach area at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, and has not been seen since. His trailer and truck were found in a parking lot there. The U.S. Coast Guard said it was told by family members that, to their knowledge, he had gone fishing alone.
Members of the Niagara Regional Police Service Marine Unit helped with the search Tuesday and Wednesday, joining a much larger party that involved rescue crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, and others.
By 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the boat and aircrews had searched about 6,000 square kilometres of Lake Erie. The Coast Guard issued an urgent marine broadcast asking all mariners to keep a lookout for Reinhart.
Reinhart often fished alone and was not a strong swimmer, police said.
He had served time in federal penitentiary after pleading guilty in 2008 to manslaughter in the death of another Niagara Falls man. Reinhart’s brother, Albert, told The Buffalo News that the family was concerned about his brother’s welfare. Wednesday was to be the closing day for a home Reinhart had purchased in North Bay, Ont., according to the paper.
“He was going to finally find peace and serenity,” Albert told the News. “Then this happened.”
His brother also said he didn’t know if Joe was wearing a life vest.