As daylight faded on Friday, so did the chances and hopes of finding 18-year-old Andres Frias, alive, but his family said they will not give up hope.
"Right now we've removed a couple of tires, a couple of chairs," Lt. Manuel Vargas with McAllen Fire Department said. "Our dive team from Mission has been unable to enter the canal itself because of the zero visibility."
The teen went underwater in a canal south of McAllen on Thursday, and never resurfaced.
Since then, his family has frantically searched for him, asking rescue crews to step up efforts.
“With the new technology, they should have a camera to send underwater and see where [my son] is," his father Jose Adrian Frias said.
The family watched in angst as crews stood by unable to get in the water.
Authorities said they feared the current may have pulled Andres to the underground pipes of the canal, effectively putting him out of reach of rescue crews.
"If he is in that tube, our irrigation personnel have advised me that it would be three to four days before he would be coming out of that area," Lt. Vargas said.
Andres' family is not giving up hope.
Despite their pain, they want other parents to be aware of the risks associated with canals, and the dangers hidden in their murkiness.
"I would recommend all parents to not let their kids near the canals so they don’t have to go through a tragedy like I have,” his father concluded.
Rescue crews called off the search for the missing teen just after sunset on Friday night.
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