Sheriff confirms body found in Terrace Park is teen missing from Little Miami River

Officials searched the Little Miami River into the early morning hours Sunday for James Ward,... — Officials searched the Little Miami River into the early morning hours Sunday for James Ward, who was swept away by the current Saturday evening. (Source: Milford Community Fire Department)

TERRACE PARK, OH (FOX19) - Authorities identified the body found in the Little Miami River Monday night as a 17-year-old swimming who vanished in the water.

James Ward went under Saturday as he tried to swim across the river near Camp Dennison in Symmes Township, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.

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A kayaker found Ward's body in the river in Terrace Park just before 9 p.m. Monday, sheriff's officials wrote in a news release..

The Loveland Symmes Fire Department pulled him from the water with multiple agencies on-hand to assist, they said.

David Rader, executive director of the Ohio chapter of Texas EquuSearch, said his group actually spotted the body first.

They searched by land, standing on bridges over the river, he said, because the current was too strong to safely search on the water.

"I had people on every bridge from here to the Ohio River," he said Tuesday morning.

"There was five of us. The girl on the north side seen the body and screamed and told me he was coming my way.

"I had one of them call 911. I took off trying to keep eyes on him and then Milford fire pulled up. A kayaker did stay with his body. He caught up with him and stayed with him until the fire department was able to retrieve him. I stayed around until they had the body."

Sheriff's officials say the incident remains under investigation.