Warren County Search and Rescue come back to shore after searching near the low-head dam on the Barren River on Monday, April 21, 2014, after a boat capsized and a woman fell out into the water off Greencastle Road boat ramp in Richardsville. A man in the boat was out of the water, but the woman was still missing several hours later. (Miranda Pederson/Daily News)

Recent rains that have swelled Barren River hampered efforts to search for a Bowling Green woman last seen April 21 on a small motorboat going over the Greencastle Dam in Richardsville.

“No one is out there right now unless it is absolutely necessary,” Warren County Rescue Department spokeswoman Deborah Williams said. “We are asking property owners who live along the river if they can look along the water’s edge and see anything that could be a body.”

Melissa Trent, 39, of Bowling Green, was reported missing April 21 to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.

She was last seen in a small boat near the dam, just before the watercraft topped the dam and capsized in Barren River after 5 p.m. April 21.

The other person in the boat, Robert Lynn Lindsey, 47, made it to shore.

He was taken to The Medical Center for treatment, then arrested on unrelated outstanding warrants.

Williams said water from the storms have stirred up debris, making it hazardous for boats to be on the river.

If anyone sees something that resembles a body, call the rescue department at 270-783-3030 or the sheriff’s office at 270-842-1633.

“We don’t want them calling in sightings of debris,” Williams said. “We don’t have the resources nor is it safe to launch boats to investigate things that are simply debris in the water.”

Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife officers are continuing to monitor along the riverbanks as well.

Search and rescue personnel from Warren and surrounding counties spent several days and nights on the river looking for Trent.

With the high water level now, the low head Greencastle Dam isn’t visible, Williams said. But it is still just as deadly.

The U.S. Department of Interior refers to these types of dams as “drowning machines,” labeling them the most dangerous type of dam. Recirculating currents and turbulent waters at the base of low-head dams can swamp a boat and drown occupants – even boaters wearing life vests.  

When rescue workers headed out near the dam in the immediate days after Trent went missing, they had boats rigged with cables from the shore to prevent the watercraft from toppling over or being pulled under by the strong current.

“We will explore launching boats when the water level goes down,” Williams said. “It’s just too dangerous to do anything while (the water level) is too high.” 

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