Chaffee, Mo., man lost in river still missing after Friday's search

Side-imaging sonar and drag equipment helped authorities from five state and local agencies spend most of Friday's daylight scour the Mississippi River near Cape Girardeau for signs of a local fisherman lost in a boating accident.

By the time the search wrapped up for the day, they were no closer to recovering the body of 39-year-old Chaffee native Gregory Jobe.

Jobe was fishing near the banks of the river from a 12-foot johnboat late Wednesday night with his brother, Shawn Jobe, 41, also of Chaffee, when the boat struck a barge docked just south of the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge and capsized.

Both men, experienced fishermen and strong swimmers, were dragged underneath the barge and fought for air. Shawn Jobe managed to snag a foot in the space where the barge was tied to another tow.

He told family members he tried to grab his brother, but his hold began to slip and he had to hang onto an anchor cord to keep from being swept off by the current.

Shawn Jobe was rescued by a nearby tow and treated for minor injuries, but Gregory Jobe has not been recovered.

The battered johnboat was found midmorning Wednesday near the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority in Scott City.

Rescue teams made up of members of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department, Missouri Water Patrol, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Jackson County, Ill., Sheriff's Department and Illinois State Police Water Patrol searched the area near where the men disappeared all day Thursday, but were unable to recover Gregory Jobe's body. The search resumed around 7 a.m. Friday and stretched on until dark, said Captain Mark Starnes of the fire department. The search was narrowed to several specific areas through the use of sonar, but dragging the sandy bottom of the river yielded no results.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245

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Rescue workers search for man lost in boating accident

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