Search's failure is letdown

More than 100 law enforcers, 24 canoes, cadaver dogs, a helicopter and rafts combed a 14-mile stretch of the Jordan River surplus canal Thursday looking for an 8-year-old boy presumed drowned three weeks ago.

But the day ended in frustration as officials were unable to find the body of Trejon Fite.

"We were really hopeful at the beginning of the day," said Salt Lake Police Sgt. Robin Snyder. "It's really disappointing."

The search had been compared by some to finding a needle in a haystack. In situations like that, luck will many times will be a factor.

"Luck wasn't on our side," she said.

Trejon's family and friends, who after the search ended gathered in a tent provided by the city, declined to make any comments to the media. Trejon's mother, grandfather, grandmother and several siblings were seen consoling each other, some standing with their arms over each other's shoulders.

"The family is upset," Snyder said. "They thought the search would bring closure."

Throughout the day, members of Trejon's family watched the search efforts from the shore, waiting for any word of their loved one. Many wore T-shirts with a picture of Trejon on the back.

"They're really solemn," said Snyder before the search was called off. "They're not saying much."

Although family members declined to speak publicly, they released a statement earlier in the day saying that Trejon's mother, Starshemia "Star" Brown, had been at the canal every day since her son went missing.

"Since the accident, she has not been able to work. As you can imagine, this has caused additional hardship on the family," according to the statement. Brown is a single mother of seven.

Brown said in previous interviews that she did not believe her son was still alive. But her wish was to wrap his body in his blanket that she carried with her and hold him one more time.

Trejon was playing with a group of friends on a pipe that stretches across the approximately 60-foot-wide canal on June 13, when he apparently slipped, fell in and was swept away by the swift current. A 4 1/2-day search in a 1  1/2-mile area of the canal turned up nothing.

More than 100 law enforcers, some from as far away as Carbon County, converged Thursday near the corner of Redwood Road and California Avenue to give one more big search effort.

This time, searchers looked from the spot Trejon had fallen to the Great Salt Lake, about 14 miles away, Snyder said. Cadaver dogs and ATVs along the shores and boats in the canal were used along the first six miles, while boats and a helicopter were used over the final eight miles of mostly marsh area leading into the lake.