Stanhope man still missing in river

Little Falls Police have moved their search for the body of Joseph Rivera to below Paterson Falls. Det. Brent Batelli said Monday that cadaver dogs brought to the river on Friday seemed to get a scent downstream from the falls. Unfortunately, on Saturday the river was too rough to search by boat, but on Sunday dredging was concentrated in the area the dogs indicated. A shoreline search was conducted Saturday, Batelli added. Rough water has hampered the search for much of the time since Rivera went in the river on Nov. 13, but shoreline searches have been conducted every day. Batelli said the search was continuing in the Clifton and Passaic area of the river, with a state police helicopter that has been on the scene from the beginning and assistance from emergency personnel. Rivera and three companions went into the river when a canoe they were paddling capsized. Police said the unseasonably warm weather coupled with “a few beers” led Rivera, Omar Minaya, Eric Mendez and Caesar Castillo, all from the Passaic County area, to opt for a pre-dawn canoe trip on Nov. 13. At about 3:30 a.m. the four men launched a canoe from Minaya’s back yard on the south side of the river in Little Falls. It didn’t take them long to decide the waters were too rough and to attempt to turn back, the three men told police. When they did, they lost control of the canoe, lost a paddle and the canoe capsized less than 25 feet from shore. The other three made it to shore, but believe Rivera was swept downstream and drowned. The excursion was not far above the Passaic falls. Rivera’s family members told police he had asthma and may have panicked. None of the men were wearing life jackets, police said. Although the search began immediately, it wasn’t until Nov. 15 that boats could be launched to move the search away from the shoreline because the turbulent conditions continued, police said. The wet autumn has left the river unusually high, police said. About 28 police boats were on the river late last week using Coast Guard sonar as well as grappling hooks and the cadaver dogs to locate the body. One of the police boats capsized only a few hundred feet above the falls. A 100-foot-long rescue rope was strung across the river for the safety of the searchers. Assisting the Little Falls police have been emergency personnel from the N.J. State Police’s Marine Division and its helicopter unit and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department.