The search is set to resume Thursday for a man who was reported missing Wednesday night went in the lagoon at Heartland of America Park.
Rescue crews were called around 10:15 p.m. for a man possibly under the water in the lake. A witness said they last saw the man swimming near the fountain before losing sight of him.
Battalion Fire Chief Troy Brannen says when crews arrived they had to cut through fences in order to bring their equipment to the water side. They launched a sonar boat, the dive team and multiple wave runners in the hopes of a quick rescue.
However, after three hours of searching they had to suspend their efforts because it became too difficult to see in the dark.
Brannen said the Conagra fountain also made this search extremely difficult. Crews had to get that turned off before they could go into the water. It also made it harder for divers to know where to look for the man, since the fountain moves a lot of water.
"With the pump being on for the fountain and then being turned off it's hard to say where exactly," Brannen said. "That water has to go somewhere and it may have moved him. So we were searching all around where he could be, it's difficult. Obviously, it being dark it was getting really tough to see things."
Brannen said there are spots in the lake where the water is waist deep, but at other points it can drop off more than 15 feet.