THURMOND, W.Va. — A Beckley man missing since a fishing trip over the weekend has been found downstream in the New River.
Rudy Cerda was fishing with some friends on the New River in the Thurmond area on Saturday. According to witnesses he was in one location sitting in the shallows of the river while the rest of the party moved to a different area to keep fishing. When those friends returned they found only Cerda’s shirt and cell phone.
Crews from the National Park Service, State Police, and other agencies had searched the river Saturday with no luck. Storms Sunday had stalled out the search. Monday afternoon, a whitewater guide found Cerda’s body downstream in the Upper Railroad Rapid near Cunard. He was about six miles downstream from where friends had reported last seeing him.
The cause of death is not officially known, but officials speculate he simply went into the water and drowned.