Search Teams Find Body In Apalachee River

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By Steve Alexander Reporter

M50o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr Search Teams Find Body In Apalachee River

Published: Mon, July 21, 2008 - 10:36 pm
Last Updated: Monday, July 21, 2008 - 10:49 pm

Steve Alexander

Search crews in Baldwin County have found the body of a man they believe may be a crab fisherman who fell from a boat Monday afternoon in the Apalachee River.
Officials with Daphne Search and Rescue say a body was found Monday evening near the site where 35 year old Joe Wongsa fell from his boat earlier in the day.
The discovery was made in 15 to 18 feet of water a half mile from Ed's Seafood Shed restaurant on the Causeway in Spanish Fort.
Search teams using side-scan sonar said they found the body of a man fitting the description of Joe Wongsa about 7:00 pm.
They say Wongsa was crabbing with three other men when he fell off his boat.
Ronny Champion with Daphne Search and Rescue said, "We have feelings that we have found the subject, but he can't be identified. The rough conditions of the water could have made the subject fall overboard, but also, he was working with ropes and heavy objects underwater, which makes it heavier than normal."
Throughout the afternoon, Wongsa's wife kept vigil at the staging area along the Causeway.
So did family friends, like Reverend Noy Paul, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Irvington.
Reverend Paul said, "His (Wongsa's) wife called me at 2:35 pm and she had received a call from his friend."
Pon Hall, another family friend, said, "I feel sorry for him. I hurt so bad because he's still so young, he was still so young. Four children he had from two years old up."
There are two boys and two girls.
Reverend Paul says Wongsa was very active in his church.
Paul said, "He's a volunteer to do music for our church, and he's a Sunday school teacher, too."
Hall added, "He's a sweet kind of person. He can do everything for everybody. He's a good kind of person."
About half a dozen agencies joined in the search.
Investigators say Wongsa was not wearing a life jacket.
A positive identification of the body will be made by the Baldwin County Coroner's Office.

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