It’s been nearly three days since Richard Hager jumped from the Pelly River bridge into the cold waters below.

He hasn’t been found.

The search for 21-year-old Hager began Saturday night after witnesses heard him yelling and saw him struggling in the water.

It’s been ongoing since – wrapping up at midnight Monday so crews could rest and recharge, and resuming after a group meeting at 7 a.m. today.

Pelly Crossing RCMP Cpl. Josh Wiese said the community’s efforts have been “huge.”

About 100 local residents, nearly half of the village’s population, are playing a role in the mission in various ways, from searching the river by boat and walking along the riverbanks to donating food and coffee and cooking breakfast in the operation’s home base, the Link Building in Pelly Crossing.

“If they couldn’t be searching, they’re cooking for us or they’re giving us pats on the back,” Wiese told the Star.

“The Selkirk First Nation has really pulled together. Anybody can come in and have some kind words and some fellowship which has been unbelievable.”

One American tourist even put his boat in the water and headed out to search.

Hager, a member of the Selkirk First Nation, was with a friend on the bridge at about 10 p.m. Saturday when he said he was hot and wanted to go for a swim. He took off his shoes and hat and jumped into the river.

He couldn’t make it to shore.

Some people sitting on a patio at a house nearby saw him struggling in the water and phoned police.

Wiese said Monday it’s not common for people to jump off the bridge, which is about 25 metres high, to swim in the river, but it does happen occasionally.

Crews are searching 60 to 70 kilometres of the river from the bridge down to the Yukon River.

A police dog searched up and down the riverbanks and found no sign of Hager.

The Yukon River has been searched by air, and Wiese said RCMP are relying on tourist traffic on that river to be extra eyes on the lookout for Hager.

“We’re working under the assumption that he’s been caught in a back eddy or an undercurrent with some backwash and is still in the Pelly,” he said.

Whitehorse and Dawson City search and rescue crews, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and RCMP from neighbouring detachments are assisting with the search.

At the time he disappeared, Hager was said to be wearing tan pants and a brown jacket.

He’s 5’3” tall and weighs about 133 pounds.

Pelly Crossing RCMP request that anyone using the Pelly River between Pelly Crossing and the Yukon River remain vigilant for Hager, either in the water or along the river banks. 

Anyone with further information is requested to contact the Pelly Crossing RCMP detachment at 867-537-2677.