NEWS

Officials call off search for missing veteran

Patrick Brennan, Cameron Knight, and Rebecca Butts
Cincinnati
Aaron Berns was last seen jumping into the Little Miami River after a house fire in Morrow, Ohio.

Officials have called off the search for an U.S. Army veteran who was last seen jumping into the Little Miami River after a fire Friday night.

The Warren County Sheriff's Office announced Sunday just before 2 p.m. that the search was completed and Aaron Berns was not located, but noted that their investigation is not over.

Police spotted Berns, 27, in the backyard of his brother's house on Miranda Street in Morrow, Ohio, on Friday as firefighters worked to extinguish a blaze at the home, said Lt. John Faine with the Warren County Sheriff's Office.

Berns, a U.S. Army veteran, fled when police approached him and was last seen jumping into the river. Faine explained authorities were conducting the "extensive" search because Berns is a person-of-interest in connection with the fire, but more importantly that the frigid waters are extremely dangerous.

"I don't think he is in that river," said Aaron Berns' adoptive sister, Cassy, adding her brother is a survivalist and well-trained.

She said she believes her brother, who served six years in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffers from mental and emotional issues for which he has refused to seek treatment.

"We've been trying to get him to go get help ever since he came home," Cassy Berns said. "We could tell that emotionally things were not good for him. He was mentally unstable."

Aaron Berns has lived with his brother, Jeremy, at the home on Miranda St. for a couple of months. Jeremy, 29, said his brother has been acting extremely paranoid and needs help.

Police took Aaron Berns for a mental evaluation at a hospital a couple of days ago when he set a mattress on fire outside, he said. Jeremy Berns said his brother was going to be held for 72-hours at the hospital, but that he returned home a few hours later.

Connie Berns, who adopted Aaron and Jeremy when they were four and six years old, respectively, said Aaron should not have been released.

"You can't tell me that he got a clean bill of health going to a hospital in the last week, when he is exhibiting such strange behavior," she said. "He burned a mattress in the backyard of somebody's home."

His family is hoping that Aaron made it out of the river and is hiding somewhere. They want him to be found safe and to seek the help that he needs.

"We love him and we want him to come home safe," Cassy Berns said. "I know him and he doesn't want to kill himself or hurt anyone, he just wants someone to help him but he refuses every time we try. It's a sickness."

After searching Friday night and Saturday, crews continued to comb the Little Miami River and surrounding areas Sunday starting at 9 a.m. The Army Corps of Engineers closed the Caesar Creek Dam Saturday morning which lowered the water level and helped slow current to aid the search in the area, Lt. Faine said.

The search was a joint effort conducted by at least 15 different agencies including nine area fire departments, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the all-volunteer, non-profit Buckeye Search and Rescue Dogs.

Temperatures dropped into the 20s in Warren County overnight Friday when Berns went missing, and the Little Miami River's depth was measured at about 8 feet, according to the National Weather Service. The river swelled early in the week because of heavy rains.

The water temperature in the river was recorded at 45 degrees by the U.S. Geological Survey. At that temperature, severe hypothermia can set in after four hours, according to Coast Guard research.

The research suggests that after 15 minutes of exposure to cold water, individuals may not be able to pull themselves out of the water without help.

"Although the search and operation phase of the investigation is completed, Mr. Berns is still entered as a critical missing person," Faine wrote in a press release Sunday. The sheriff's department is asking anyone with information about Berns' whereabouts to call 513-695-1280.

"It definitely did take a toll," Jeremy said after hearing the search was called off, but explained his family plans to canvas the area with flyers and to continue searching the river themselves.

"My dad just bought a kayak," he said. "I'm not a pro like the rescue teams, but I might get lucky and see something they missed."

The family is asking the public to continue sharing photos and information about Aaron on social media in the hopes that someone may recognize him.