The SORT team (Special Operations Rescue Team) from Rutherford County is in Giles County assisting in the search for missing a kayaker.
Anthony Cooper was last seen Sunday (5/6/2018) morning when he put his kayak into the Elk River near Elkton, Tennessee.
The Giles County Sheriffs Office reports that Cooper's kayak was found floating upside down in the river. A life jacket was found behind the seat.
His parents identified their son's vehicle that was parked at the boat ramp.
On Sunday evening, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) joined the Giles County Rescue squad in an organized search. On Monday, three members of Rutherford County's Special Operations Response Team (SORT) were assisting in the search along the Elk River.
SORT's Cody Smith told NewsRadio WGNS, "Rutherford County's team got home around 8:00 o'clock Monday night after searching all day. Unfortunately, we were not able to find Mr. Cooper. We'll be sending another team of three to search on Tuesday."
What Is Our SORT Team
The Rutherford County Special Operations Response Team (SORT) is a county government response entity which is a division of Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and an operational arm of the Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
This team is comprised of twenty-two (22) highly specialized and crossed trained rescue medics providing a wide range of technical rescue and response capabilities such as: CBRNE/ Hazardous Materials, Search and Rescue, Mass Causality Events, Technical extrication/extraction, High/Low Angle, Confined Space, Trench, Collapse, and water related incidents such as swift water rescue/recovery, surface water search/ rescue and underwater search/ rescue/recovery.
