A large search for missing Alamance County man ended sadly this weekend with divers finding his body in a Haw River tributary Sunday afternoon.
Paul Shannon Geber, 56, of Whitney Road, Graham, went to ride trails on his ATV near his home south of Saxapahaw at about 5 p.m. Saturday, March 12, according to a release from the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office. He had not returned that evening, and his family reported him missing at about 7:30 p.m.
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The sheriff’s office started a search right away with help from seven agencies, including the Eli Whitney and Elon fire departments, Alamance County Rescue, Alamance County EMS, the Highway Patrol and North Carolina Emergency Management.
By 11:15 p.m. Saturday, the search set up a command post in the parking lot of B. Everette Jordan Elementary School while the weather got worse with wind, rain and falling temperatures. Searchers asked Gerber’s cell phone provider to ping his phone, but the company could not reach it, possibly because it was turned off.
At sunrise Sunday the search continued with a Highway Patrol helicopter, a sheriff’s office drone, more deputies, and several agencies from different counties including underwater rescue specialists from the Wake Forest Fire Department. In all, there were 76 people from 16 agencies searching for Gerber, according to the sheriff’s office.
At about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies found Gerber’s ATV in Mary’s Creek about 2,200 feet from where it feeds into the Haw River. Divers searched unsuccessfully for hours, but at 3:20 p.m., Sunday found Gerber’s body about 350 yards downstream from the ATV.
Isaac Groves is an Alamance County watchdog reporter for the Times-News and the USA Today Network. Call or text 919-998-8039 with tips and comments or follow him on Twitter @TNIGroves.
