MILTON, Del. - Delaware State Police say they have resumed the search for the man who went missing Tuesday afternoon in the Broadkill River. According to the Lewes Fire Department, Yorch Niz-Chilel was standing on a piece of wood while fishing when he slipped and fell into the water. He is presumed dead, the department said. According to State Police, their Aviation Unit, Maritime Unit, and DNREC are part of the coordinated search effort.
Family members and coworkers told CoastTV News that Niz-Chilel was fishing with his uncle and cousin at the time.
Niz-Chilel's aunt, Cecilia Morales, spoke exclusively with CoastTV in Spanish. She said he is from Guatemala and lived in Harrington.
"I loved him like a son because I have a son who is about the same age as him, and for me, it's very sad, very painful. I spent some time with him," Morales said. "He was a very humble and a very good young man. I don't have the words to describe all this pain."
Family, friends and coworkers of 18-year-old Yorch Niz-Chilel looking over where he was last seen in the Broadkill River.
John Watson with the Lewes Fire Department described the conditions emergency responders faced during the search.
"Once we got here and we realized that the victim was not on top of the water, and it wasn't a surface rescue, we needed to activate other local fire departments to get other resources here," Watson said. "We knew we were going to need the divers with more boats, and that it was going to be a pretty extensive search mission."
"The current here runs pretty, pretty heavy, probably five or six knots. It's about 13 feet deep," Watson continued.
A coworker told CoastTV that Niz-Chilel called for help before disappearing beneath the surface.
Emergency crews were dispatched around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including Delaware State Police, Sussex County EMS, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), and several fire companies from across the county.
Divers, helicopters, and the U.S. Coast Guard were involved in the search throughout the afternoon.
Multiple emergency response crews search for a missing swimmer near Oyster Rocks Road in Milton.
From a distance, Morales thinks about Niz-Chilel's mom, who's back in Guatemala.
"It's unfortunate for us. He walks out, and now, how does he arrive back in a box? It's very sad. There's no son who can replace that emptiness in the heart. I'm very sad," she said.
Delaware State Police said the active maritime search was suspended Tuesday night due to safety concerns before resumption Wednesday morning.
