Witnesses recall when man went under in Mississippi River in Elk River, search continues

ELK RIVER, Minn. (FOX 9) - Law enforcement spent the day on the Mississippi River on Saturday, searching for a missing father who went under while saving his son and daughter.

Witnesses say the children were struggling against the strong current of a swollen Mississippi River, just before noon on Friday. Their father was able to pull his daughter onto land, but when he went back in for his son, witnesses say he lifted the boy up, and immediately dropped underwater himself. 

"He’s a hero. I mean he’s absolutely a hero. My heart breaks for him, for the family," neighbor Brian Donnelly told FOX 9.

"I feel so bad, it was just awful. I was shaking by the time this thing was over, because this poor little child, she was watching her dad," witness Marianne Jackson continued.

Elk River Mayor John Dietz credits Elk River Fire Captain Joe Libor Jr. for tossing a rope to rescue the boy, who continued to float down river after his father went under.

"It’s just really sad. He basically was going to save his two children, and it sounds like it’s going to prove costly for him," Dietz said. "The chief told me that he believes there’s all kind of debris under the water, and that it would be easy to get sucked down into that or get stuck in that."