HOLYOKE — The search for 27-year-old Niklas Delisle, who fell in the Connecticut River Monday night while kayaking, was stalled Thursday and Friday due to excessive rain and cold temperatures, but a game plan is forming for rescue teams to be back out on the water next week.
Currently, water pressure on the Connecticut River is clocking at 40,000 cubic feet per second due to strong rains both locally and as far north as Vermont, said Capt. David Rex, a spokesperson for the Holyoke Fire Department.
“I don’t want to say it’s fruitless, but we could be putting our men in danger for very little reward,” he said Friday afternoon.
He added that the crew’s sonar technology does not operate well under these water conditions. “If he is underwater, we need that sonar technology,” he said.
In addition to the tumultuous water pressure, Holyoke’s high temperature on Friday was in the mid-50s, with mid-60s forecast for the weekend.
“The cold temperatures and conditions fatigue our guys too fast,” said Rex.
Members of the Hampden County Sheriff’s office may patrol the area Saturday and Sunday. Depending on weather, full forces of police and fire officials may be back on the water come the beginning of next week, even despite the Memorial Day holiday, said Rex.
The holiday may bring boaters out to the river, and Rex urges boaters and swimmers use flotation devices, pack warm clothes this weekend, and keep track of the river’s flow and condition — data that is available online.
Delisle, of Chicopee, was in a two-passenger kayak with his girlfriend, Mya Ballard, just south of the Vietnam Memorial Bridge that connects South Hadley to Holyoke when his kayak capsized around 7:30 p.m.
Ballard was rescued by an anonymous bystander, but Delisle, who was not wearing a flotation device, has not been seen since the river’s current pulled him in.
Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.
