Questions surface as Dr. Kumar’s body still missing
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“Kind of makes you wonder,” said Rescue Squad director Fred Hillis, whose crews have been working day-long shifts dragging the river since Kumar disappeared Tuesday morning. “We’ve covered from the dock where he supposedly jumped in, on down about a mile or mile and a half.”
The squad went to work after a friend of Kumar’s claimed the doctor had threatened suicide and then walked toward the river behind his Collins River Drive house and did not return. Authorities found a shoe, reportedly belonging to Kumar, on the dock and his sweater was later recovered from the water. No one witnessed him jumping into the river.
According to Hillis, whose team is considered one of the best in the state at water recoveries, the 32 degree water would have likely caused hypothermia two minutes upon entering the water. Hillis added there are one set of footprints leading to the water and none leading back. The bluffs near the river make it improbable for a person to have exited the area another way. Hillis said his men have also carefully checked the opposing river bank and found no footprints.
“If he did fake this, then the only way I can see it being done is by having a boat waiting at the dock, because if he got in the water, the chances are, he never got back out,” Hillis said, referring to rumors the disappearance may have been a hoax.
Hillis said the river, which is down now, is very clear and searchers can pretty well see the bottom of the river at most points. However, the shallowness of the river also means there is a stronger-than-normal current given the Great Falls Dam which was pumping at the time of Kumar’s disappearance.
Hillis said it is conceivable a body could have washed down outside the mile-and-a-half zone they have been dragging. Hillis also said there is much debris on the bottom and a body could be concealed under debris such as logs.
“We’re not going to give up. We’re going to keep on looking,” Hillis said, noting weather could hamper operations in the coming days.
Hillis noted if a body is not found, it generally takes seven to 10 days for it to float to the surface if not held under by debris or other weights. However, given the coldness of the water, it could take three to four weeks.
Sheriff Jackie Matheny said his department is conducting an investigation and is still treating it as a missing person case.
“We haven’t ruled anything out,” Matheny said. “We’re going to do all we can to find him and the rescue squad has been putting in some long hours to search the river.”
Dr. Kumar moved to Warren County from India several years ago, setting up a private practice here which now includes hundreds of regular patients. In addition to medicine, Kumar has headed and sponsored several community projects, such as the House of Hope located on Sparta Street.
At the time of his disappearance, Kumar was scheduled to report to jail later this month to serve four days for a recent DUI conviction arising from a traffic stop last year.