MINTO, N.D. -- Authorities continued to search a coulee near Minto, N.D., Wednesday for Guy Miller, the 55-year-old driver of a pickup that was swept off a Walsh County road by high water Monday evening.
The search was focused Wednesday on a site not much more than a quarter-mile southeast of where flood waters swept him and his pickup truck off a gravel road Monday evening. The scene is about two miles west and about a mile south of Minto in Walsh County.
At least two dozen or more law enforcement officers, including the Grand Forks County Water Rescue Team, were in and around rushing waters, using sonar and an airboat looking for the victim.
Divers worked in the icy water that was as deep as 12 to 14 feet in some spots.
Miller's truck remained hung up on a bank, still partially submerged, where it was left by the floodwaters in a coulee here. The search site is about 150 yards further southeast of the truck.
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"The water is coming across country," Walsh County Sheriff Lauren Wild said Wednesday, describing the road following the edge of the coulee as a low spot, with water spread far beyond its channel.
The coulee flows into the Forest River less than a quarter-mile away.
On Tuesday, the search team included airboats and personnel from Grand Forks as well as the Oslo (Minn.) fire department, Minto and Grafton, N.D., fire and rescue departments and a helicopter from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. However, search efforts were hampered by high winds.
Last seen Monday
Miller called for help from his pickup at about 7 p.m. Monday.
A friend arrived at the scene while Miller was standing on the truck's running board, according to the Walsh County Sheriff's Department. They exchanged waves and then the friend left to get help. Miller no longer could be seen when he returned.
A family member on Wednesday said Miller was on the telephone, talking with his girlfriend, when the truck was swept away.
Wild praised the work of the Grand Forks County Water Rescue Team, commanded by Cpl. Thomas Inocencio of the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Department, which led the search.
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"They are doing great work," Wild said.
The team was using sonar and scientific estimates to figure where Miller's body might be located based on what the water was doing at the site, Wild said.
Searchers were dividing the area into a grid and searching it section by section.
Call Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1110; or send email to kbonham@gfherald.com . Herald Staff Writer Stephen J. Lee contributed to this report.
