WMOA News

Rivers Searched for Missing Sailor

Posted on: 03/04/2013

UPDATE: Monday's dawn-to-dusk search yielded no signs of Mr. Travis. Marietta Police continue to investigate his disappearance.

A shore and water search is taking place along the banks of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers in Marietta and Williamstown this morning, as part of an ongoing investigation into what happened to missing Navy sailor Carl Austin Travis, 22.

The Parkersburg man was last seen at the Lafayette Hotel on February 12. Days later his family contacted police after the Navy informed them he had not returned to duty on his ship, stationed at Jacksonville, Florida.

The search began at dawn this morning, starting at the Washington Street Bridge and on down the Muskingum River to the confluence, as well as a section of the Ohio River.

The new Marietta fire and police boats are in use, as are watercraft from Williamstown and Vienna. Divers from the Little Hocking fire department dive team are helping, as are firefighters from the Warren Township with a high-powered sonar unit. Cadaver dogs from West Virginia are being used, both on the water and along the shores. The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources is also involved, with most of the Ohio River being in their jurisdiction.

Marietta Police Captain Jeff Waite says the shore and water search is not based on any tips or specific information about Travis. Waite says that, despite a continuing investigation, police have gotten "zero new information" about the missing sailor since that last sighting at the Lafayette on February 12.

Carl Austin Travis is 22 years old…stands five feet seven inches tall…weighs 140 pounds…has brown hair and blue eyes…and usually wears glasses. Anyone with information that might help in solving his disappearence would be greatly appreciated by first responders and his family.

If you have any information, call Marietta Police at (740) 373-4141.