Update: A group of kayakers Saturday found the body of a missing swimmer in the Susquehanna River.

Jason Howard, 18, of East Donegal Township, had been missing since Wednesday night.

Go here for the story at Lancaster Online.

Previous story: The search for a missing swimmer from East Donegal Township in Lancaster County has shifted from a rescue to a recovery, with officials saying the 19-year-old must have drowned after getting caught in current Tuesday evening.

Jason Howard and two male friends entered the Susquehanna River at Marietta Access, a launch near Robert Mower Drive around 7:15 p.m., said Lt. Stephen Englert of Susquehanna Regional Police.

Intending to swim across to the York County side of the river, the three got caught in a swift-moving channel about three quarters of the way across the river. A 17-year-old male and 19-year-old Richard Young of East Donegal made it through the current, but Howard went missing, Englert said.

Rescue crews responded after several people heard the swimmers calling for help and called 911. The young men were rescued between Wrightsville and the Accomac Inn, the area where the search for Howard has been concentrated, Englert said.

It was unclear Friday morning whether water rescue crews would be able to take to the water because of impending storms and rough conditions. Crews from York, Lancaster, and Dauphin counties have been assisting, including a State Police helicopter, a medical helicopter from York Hospital, and a sonar unit from Hanover, Englert said. Crews are now looking for a cadaver dog to assist in the recovery, he said.

Englert said he was uncertain of Howard's level of swimming experience, but crossing the Susquehanna is "very dangerous" for any swimmer.

He said the river is "a public body of water, open to anybody and everybody," and swimming isn't restricted.

But he said people should at least wear a life vest because it's a dangerous and unpredictable body of water with changing depths and currents.

"People don't realize the Susquehanna is a very diverse body of water, and rocky," he said. "You'll be in two or three feet of water and hit a hole and it's 10 or 15 feet of water. We definitely don't recommend that you try and cross the river, especially with the channels. The current runs pretty swift and it very easily can get the best of you. You can end up with a disaster."