By George Hunter and Tom Greenwood
The Detroit News
DETROIT — As a dive team prepared to enter the frigid Detroit River on Wednesday to search for a painter who fell from the Ambassador Bridge, Fawn Salvatore tearfully pleaded for rescuers to “please find my son.”
Kent Morton, 27, of Garden City was working near the Detroit side of the bridge about 1:45 p.m. when he fell more than 100 feet into the water. Police and U.S. Coast Guard officers searched into the night for Morton in boats and helicopters that canvassed the area.
Witnesses told police that Morton, who is expecting a child with his girlfriend, struggled to stay afloat for a few minutes before the river’s powerful undercurrent pulled him below the surface. The water temperature was 37 degrees, Coast Guard officials said.
“I’m amazed he even survived the fall,” said Inspector Don Johnson, commanding officer of the Detroit Police Office of Homeland Security and head of the department’s Underwater Rescue Team.
“He was struggling in the water for a time, but that current is pretty strong. The water where this occurred is about 50 feet deep.”
Shane Morton of Westland said his brother was either painting or sandblasting on the bridge. A panel that dangled from beneath the bridge was where Kent Morton was working when he fell, Shane said, describing his brother as “a wonderful guy - my best friend.”
About 90 minutes after the fall, Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said the man was seen floating past the old Boblo dock at South Clark Street, several blocks west of the bridge. A Detroit Police Harbormaster boat went to the site and crawled eastward several times to no avail.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Salvatore arrived on the scene and leaned against a fence separating her from a dive team that was preparing to enter the water.
“Find my son,” she wailed. “Please find my son.”
Bridge supervisor Randy Spader said Kent Morton works for Seaway Painting, a company that was subcontracted to work on the Ambassador Bridge. Shane Morton said the brothers’ father also works for Seaway.
“At this point, we don’t know all the facts of exactly what happened,” Spader said.
“While we will do a thorough investigation of the incident, our first and foremost thoughts and concerns are for this man. We are praying for a positive outcome.”
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Kyle Niemi said the agency launched a helicopter and a 45-foot response boat after receiving a call about the incident.
The Detroit Police Dive Team employed its underwater robot as part of the search.
“The robot allows us to look under the water and see if we can find a body,” Johnson said.
“We’re also going to use sonar to see if we can pick up any activity,” Johnson added. “It’s pretty murky down there.”
Wednesday’s incident wasn’t the first time a painter had fallen from the span. In June 2001, firefighters rescued two painters from the Ambassador Bridge after their scaffold collapsed, leaving one man hanging from a safety harness.
And in November 2000, three bridge painters plunged into the river after a scaffold collapse that left four other workers dangling from the bridge for more than 45 minutes.
Two of the workers who fell into the water were rescued but the other, Jamie Barker, 28, of Windsor, died. His body was found the following April by a fisherman 10 miles south of Windsor.
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