County man missing after car pulled from Wabash River

A vehicle was removed by rescue workers from the Wabash River in Wells County Wednesday near the White Bridge picnic area just east of Bluffton at 4490 East River Road but no driver has yet been located according to investigating agencies.

The search began after the Adams County Sheriff’s Department received a missing person report for 19 yearold Branden Beer of Geneva on Wednesday.

According to a press release from the Wells County Sheriff’s Department, Beer’s vehicle was discovered in the river around 1 p.m. Wednesday. It further noted a recovery effort for a body was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday but as of Friday morning, none had been discovered.

Detective Larry Butler of the Adams County Sheriff’s Department noted that Beer had actually been missing since last Sunday but it wasn’t until around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday that his department receiving a missing person call. Butler had started investigating the missing person call with evidence leading him to believe Beer may be in the Wells County area.

Butler added that the initial location of where the car might be was evidence by the fact an apparent accident had occurred and the site where the vehicle left the road was actually discovered by his mother. Butler said the river was about 11 feet deep with a fairly rapid current where the vehicle was discovered.

Wells County authorities led by Detective Quinton Greer of the Wells County Sheriff’s Department along with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources then assumed control of the investigation once the vehicle was found.

The Piqua Towing Company from Decatur was called to the scene to extricate the vehicle from the river while other assisting agencies involved in the investigation include the Adams County Sheriff’s Department, Bluffton Police Department, Bluffton Fire/Rescue Department, and the Decatur Fire/Rescue Department.