Dive teams search river for guns stolen from RC Firearms in New Kensington

Dive teams returned to the Allegheny River on Sunday to search the murky water for guns stolen Jan. 22 from RC Firearms in New Kensington.

More than 30 people set up a command scene on the Braeburn riverfront in Lower Burrell to help police and agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“You’d be surprised at the things people throw into the river,” said Darrick Gerano, head of the search and administrative director at Murrysville Medic One.

Two suspects were charged with driving a stolen pickup truck through the door of RC Firearms on Freeport Street and making off with 24 guns.

Since then, two of the firearms have been recovered. Pistols were found Jan. 24 when police stopped a car in Homestead with four men inside. One of them had a gun from the RC burglary in his waistband. A second RC gun was found during a search of the car.

Roy Berg, who co-owns RC Firearms with his son Cole, has expressed concern about the rest of the guns being on the streets.

Tips led search crews to the riverfront Friday but conditions prevented them from getting in the water.

“These things all depend on the current and the temperature,” said Greensburg Dive Team member George McFarland.

He said the section of the river being targeted in the search has a lot of branches and debris which, combined with the fast current Friday, could’ve interfered with the efforts.

Instead, crews ran a remote operated vehicle to search the area. Nothing was found.

On Sunday, better river conditions and temperatures near the mid-50s cooperated to allow the dive. Teams from various departments fanned out in waist-high water and felt their way along the riverbed.

Several tethered divers swam further out, completing specific search patterns to clear each area.

As of about 12:30, nothing had turned up.

An officer who answered the phone at the New Kensington police department on Sunday referred calls to the ATF. Messages left with the ATF field office in Pittsburgh requesting comment were not immediately answered.

It was unclear whether river searches would continue this week.

At least a dozen divers took turns in the water Sunday, including those from Lower Kiski, Donora, Murrsyville, Greensburg and Collinsburg.

McFarland expected the water temperature to reach about 42 degrees, which is amenable for divers but still a safety risk, he said.

“You have to limit their time in there,” he said. “It’s a dangerous situation and not something to take lightly.”