Divers continue search for 2 missing people in Pittsburgh's rivers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - For days now, a group of divers has been out on Pittsburgh's three rivers on a painstaking mission: trying to find two local people who have been missing for years.
Even thousands of miles away from home, with hours-long searches and dangerous days, their purpose drives them to dive.
"Words cannot describe how it feels to bring a family member home to someone that has been waiting sometimes even decades for," said Jacob Grubbs, the founder of Chaos Divers.
Chaos Divers and Adventures with Purpose were on the Monongahela River early Tuesday morning to check and clear vehicles submerged in the murky depths below.
They're hoping to find 70-year-old Janet Walsh from Shaler, who disappeared in 2020. They started looking for her earlier this year in the Sharpsburg area, and now they're back to expand their search. They're also looking for 78-year-old Bunnie Lee from Homewood, who disappeared in 2013.
Adventures with Purpose's diver Doug Bishop said there was not a specific tip that lead them to these locations, rather, he said, "This is the region that's in our search radius, so we'll come in and search all water we deem deep enough to conceal vehicles."
Bishop said once they determine where to look, their team of five divers gets to work.
"We utilize our board to scan," said Bishop. "We use cutting-edge garments sonar technology to be able to determine what anomalies are on the bottom of the river, and then after we do that, we're divers as well, so we're able to dive on those targets to assess, identify and so forth."
Bishop said if they need to remove an object or human remains from the water, they call Pittsburgh first responders for help.
Bishop said they search rain or shine, and it's not an easy task.
"This type of diving is deadly," said Bishop. "You're in adverse conditions, currents, visibilities."
But for them, it's worth it. They recently found 100 vehicles in the Allegheny River. Bishop believes these cars were dumped in the river from organized crime decades ago. The cars were checked and cleared by the divers.
The body of 54-year-old Tod DiMinno from Harmony, who'd been missing since last month, was in one of them. Jacob Grubbs was the one who dove in.
"It's a heartwarming feeling to bring him home, but it was kind of a shock when we recovered him, it was a beautiful thing," said Grubbs.
"I'm just hoping we can provide some more answers to some more families and that's basically what we strive for every day," said Lindsay Bussick, the manager of Chaos Divers. "They get to miss their families in all the seasons. I can search for their families in all the seasons."
It's bringing hope and healing to families across the country.
Bishop said once they're done in Pittsburgh, they're going to Philadelphia to help the FBI.