Search teams were on the Mississippi River about a mile north of the bridges Saturday night looking for a towboat worker who was believed to have fallen overboard.

“Right now our boats are still operating as if this were a rescue,” Sheriff Martin Pace said about two hours after the initial report at about 8 p.m.

Pace did not release the name of the man, the boat or its owner because the family and tow owner had not been notified, but he said the man is not from Vicksburg or Warren County and the boat is not registered in Mississippi.

Ergon Marine received the man-overboard call at 7:55 p.m., said Pace, and immediately sent out multiple search-and-rescue boats. Initial reports indicated he was not wearing a life vest. It also appears the towboat had already been tied off to the Louisiana side of the river bank for the evening when the man fell overboard, Pace said.

“I have deputies onboard the vessel who are interviewing some people who witnessed the event to try to figure out what happened,” Pace said. “We’re still hoping for a positive outcome, but needless to say, that is an unforgiving body of water.”

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com