A search continued today for a man who authorities believe drowned after falling off a towboat into the Mississippi River Saturday night.

The Hancock County man — whose name was being withheld pending notification of his family — fell from The John G. Morgan, a boat owned by Houma, La.-based Bayou Tugs and contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mat Sinking Unit, said Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace. The tug had been tied off for the evening about a mile north of the Mississippi River bridges in an inlet near the west bank, not far from where the barges are loaded with the concrete mats used for revetment.

“We were out on the river until about nine o’clock last night, and I had four deputies in two boats back on the water at daybreak today,” Pace said this morning. “We’ve got one boat searching the immediate area where he went in. A second boat put in at LeTourneau landing and is working its way north.”

He said witnesses reported the man was last seen standing on the bow of the boat.

“It’s unclear at this time how he fell in the water,” Pace said, but Ergon Marine and sheriff’s department rescue teams were called out just before 8 p.m., and searched the river until about midnight. On Sunday, the Mississippi and Louisiana wildlife and fisheries departments joined the search, as did the Vicksburg Fire Department dive team.

“Saturday night we were in full rescue mode. It became apparent yesterday morning this had shifted from a rescue mission to a recovery, and we will continue those efforts on a day-to-day basis if we have to,” said Pace, who noted the fish and wildlife departments are again assisting today.

The river inlet where the man fell in is about 14 to 20 feet deep “with a strong current,” said Pace.

“Once you get out from behind that rock dike (in the inlet) into the main channel of the river, you’re talking about an even faster current and depths of 100 feet or more in some places,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can to make a recovery for this man’s family, but the reality of the situation is this can be a very unforgiving body of water.”

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com