From staff reports

MCELHATTAN – Alex Mardis, 31, of Avis, has been identified by friends and family as the missing fisherman who vanished from the Wayne Township boat launch at Alan Gardner Memorial Park, behind the township building.

According to WNEP, friends and family of Mardis are continuing to search, although he has been gone nearly a month.

Mardis disappeared on Oct. 30.

Emergency responders, including state police and divers, failed to locate tangible evidence, and little has been heard of the case until now.

WNEP’s report stated that Mardis’s boots were located downstream by his family sometime last week.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, Lamar State Police stated that a known male witness observed what he described as a white male with black hair and a black beard struggling and yelling for help in the Susquehanna River near the boat launch.

Following a day of searching, state police at Lamar released a followup statement on Oct. 31: “Investigators searched near this incident for any unattended vehicles or watercraft in an attempt to identify the individual who was observed in the river. As of (Oct. 31) at 12:45 (p.m.), the individual has not been identified and there has been no reports of missing persons in the area which match the description of the victim. Investigators are still following up on leads to identify and confirm that was in fact in the river. Updates will be made if any additional information is discovered.”

Anyone with information on the disappearance of Alex Mardis is asked to contact state police at Lamar at (570) 726-6000.