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Authorities are searching the Potomac River near Great Falls for 20-year-old Nazir Bell, who is presumed to have drowned after disappearing while attempting to swim from Maryland to Virginia.

Bell, a Montgomery County resident, was reported in distress around 6:15 p.m. Sunday, June 14, near the Billy Goat Trail in Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Officials publicly identified him Tuesday, June 16.

Bell had entered the river with a group of young adults intending to reach the Virginia shoreline, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer. He became separated from the group just south of Sandy Landing, called to his friends for help and went underwater without resurfacing.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched to Great Falls Park on the Virginia side around 6:31 p.m. to help.

More than 40 responders and eight boats from the Montgomery and Fairfax departments participated in the initial search. Crews searched by land, water and air before stormy conditions forced them to suspend operations at sunset.

The effort resumed Monday from Old Anglers Inn in Maryland. Swift-water teams returned to the river while a U.S. Park Police Eagle 1 helicopter searched overhead. Crews also used sonar and thermal-imaging equipment.

The Fairfax County Police Department assisted, while U.S. Park Police served as the primary law enforcement agency involved.

Swimming in the Potomac is prohibited and can result in fines of $200 or more. The National Park Service warns that deceptively calm water can conceal powerful currents, with Mather Gorge in Great Falls Park considered one of the river’s most dangerous areas. Even entering the water with only one’s feet can create a risk of slipping, striking rocks and being swept away.