For immediate release: 8/3/06

With assistance from search and rescue dog ...
GRDA Lake Patrol continues Grand Lake search for missing man

Grand Lake — With assistance from a search and rescue dog, the Grand River Dam Authority Lake Patrol continues its search today for a Georgia man missing since a boating accident on Grand Lake early last Sunday morning (August 30).

Coach, a yellow Labrador Retriever, search and rescue dog owned by Patricia Taylor (Tahlequah) joined the GRDA Lake Patrol’s efforts on Thursday as the search for Murray McGarvey (35) continued on Grand Lake.

McGarvey has been missing since the 27-foot Formula boat he was a passenger in collided with 28-foot Sea Ray near the mouth of the Drowning Creek arm of Grand Lake. The driver of the Formula, Jason Bandy (Tulsa) was taken by helicopter to St. John’s Medical Center in Tulsa. Two other passengers in the Formula were not injured.

According to GRDA Lake Patrol Chief Bruce Smith, the Sea Ray left the scene following the accident. On Monday, Smith confirmed that the Sea Ray was operated by John Special (Stillwater). Lake patrol and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) investigators have now processed both boats involved in the accident. No other information on the investigation is available at this time.

Coach was one of two Oklahoma search and rescue dogs used at the World Trade Center in New York City following the events of September 11, 2001. According to Coach’s owner, Patty Taylor, the dog also worked in New Orleans last year, following the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.