COCKEYSVILLE, Md. — After seven hours searching the murky, deep water of the Beaver Dam Swimming Club quarry, authorities have paused operations to find the body of a missing swimmer.
Family anxiously watched the efforts from afar, identifying the victim as 36-year-old Michael Randle of Baltimore City. They explained Randle had recently been released from prison and was actively working to put his life back together.
His younger brother, Terrell Randle, told WMAR-2 News that his brother knew how to swim.
On Sunday evening, Baltimore County officers from the Cockeysville precinct responded to the call of a reported missing swimmer at the quarry around 6 p.m.
Rescue efforts were unsuccessful and called off around 9 p.m. The search, now a recovery effort, resumed at 8 a.m. Monday.
There are several factors that pose a challenge to the search, the water is cold and murky and deep.
On average, the quarry is 40 feet deep but reaches up to 90 feet in some parts.
WATCH: Recovery efforts paused in search for missing swimmer at Baltimore County swim club
This isn’t the first high profile death at the private club in the last few decades, even experienced swimmers, like Jamee Eben in 2000, have previously drowned there.
The search for Eben lasted days. Most recently in 2014, it took crews more than 24 hours to locate the body of Steve Jennings.
Crews relied on cadaver dogs and sonar technology, exploring every nook and cranny of the body of water, before calling off the search just after 3 p.m.
An In Focus look at previous drownings at Beaver Dam
The Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue services also provided their underwater camera to aid in the search.
The swim club advertises the quarry section as only for “strong swimmers” on its website.
WMAR-2 News reached out to the club with several questions including how many lifeguards were on staff at the time and if there are any requirements of swimmers before they enter that deep water but our questions went unanswered.
The search is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.
