Nancy Lovato's husband is a tow-truck driver and was in the area, watching Trejon and his friends. "The kid was crossing the river on the pipe," she said. The area has no fencing to protect people from the canal, and Lovato, who has lived in the area for years, said it's always been that way.

Melva Cruz drove past just after Trejon slipped. "The kids were walking back and forth back and forth to see if he came under the bridge," she said.

Cruz and her family continued to drive, thinking the kids were looking for an animal that got into the water. Then she asked her husband to turn the car. By the time they returned to the scene, police were cordoning off the area.

Teams include a dive team from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and a swiftwater rescue team from Salt Lake City, which is using three watercraft to search the canal.

"Right now, it is a search and rescue," Freitag said. "We will do that until he is found or recovered."

E-MAIL: lhancock@desnews.com