UPDATE: Cuyahoga River Search Called Off

A search of the Cuyahoga River is over after a report someone may have fallen into the rushing water downtown near the Main Street Bridge Wednesday.

Kent Police Capt. Jayme Cole said the department closed its investigation, which started after children on a school bus called 9-1-1 and reported seeing a black male swept away by the rain-swollen river.

"At this point, we can’t confirm based on the information that the officers were able to gather last night whether or not there was in fact a person in the river," Cole said. "But likewise, there was a point last night when the fire department called off their search that there really is nothing else, from a response or investigative point, to do. The river is high. It's flowing fast. They’ve made their best effort to find anybody.”

Cole said the children told the bus driver, who did not see anyone in the river.

“But he rightly told the kids they should call 9-1-1 and report what they saw," Cole said.

Members of the and the Portage County Water Rescue Team started searching the river after the call came in at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Kent Fire Capt. John Tosko said they did find a piece of clothing downstream from the Main Street Bridge but nothing else.

Firefighters and police officers walked the banks of the river from downtown past towards , and members of the water rescue team searched up and down the river several times. They continued searching the waters into Stow Wednesday. Fire departments in the cities of Stow and Cuyahoga Falls also were notified and asked to search the river.

"We've walked it twice and we've gone up and down on the boat two times," Tosko said Wednesday. "We've done visual checks multiple times and saw nothing. At this point, we're pretty confident there's nothing between the sighting and Middlebury Road."

Initially, members of the water rescue team will return to the river today and search "strainers" — debris such as logs and branches in the river that can collect and catch objects.

But the fire department is not actively searching the river today due in large part to the fact the police department has closed its investigation.