6.30PM: THE swimmer who drowned in the Murray River at Yarrawonga has been named as Sydney father Jovica Djukic.
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The body of Mr Djukic, 44, was found this morning by a Yarrawonga State Emergency Service volunteer after a two-day search.
Mr Djukic, a carpenter from the Sydney suburb of Liverpool, was a husband and father of three children, aged 21, 14 and seven.
Mr Djukic had been camping with family at Bruce's Bend when he disappeared while swimming alone in the Murray River on Saturday afternoon.
His body was found about 9am this morning about a kilometre-and-a-half from where he had been camping.
Police and SES members from both sides of the Border spent much of yesterday searching for him, alongside members of the Albury and Border Rescue Squad and Corowa VRA.
Albury rescue squad captain Stuart Dye this morning reiterated for holidaymakers to take care in the region’s waterways.
“Enjoy the river but respect it,” he said.
9.10AM: There has been no sign this morning of a man who was last seen swimming in the Murray River off Lake Mulwala on Saturday afternoon.
Police said the Sydney man, 45, was last seen swimming 100 metres from an embankment at Bruce's Bend in the Murray River about 6.30pm on Saturday.
He was camping with family.
Police and Volunteer's Rescue Association and State Emergency Service volunteers are continuing their search this morning.
Today's paper: POLICE and rescue crews will continue searching Lake Mulwala today for a missing swimmer, feared drowned.
The 44-year-old Sydney man was last seen about 5.30pm on Saturday and reported missing at 9.30pm.
It is understood he was camping on the Victorian side of the lake, at Zanetti’s No. 2 Beach.
Mulwala SES, police and the Corowa Volunteer Rescue Squad searched until well after midnight on Saturday, with the search continuing all day yesterday — but by last night there was still no sign.
The search will resume at 8am this morning with a rivergate being erected to stop the man’s body from being washed away, should it surface.
Albury and Border Rescue Squad captain Stuart Dye, who joined the search early yesterday, said it was a “search and recovery at this stage”.
“The person wasn’t actually ‘last seen’ in a particular area as such, so we’ve got a fair expanse of the lake to search,” he said.
“It appears he was likely cooling off after the extreme heat.”
Five divers and two boats from the Albury and Corowa volunteer rescue squads scoured the lake in difficult conditions, with snags and river debris affecting visibility.
“There’s minimal visibility of about 10 to 12 inches, so if you stir up the mud it’s completely gone,” Mr Dye said.
“We don’t have a lot of problems with the current at the moment but the snags and debris at the bottom are making it very difficult for the divers to search, so it’s slow work.”
Sonar equipment was also used, and SES crews and police from both sides of the Border assisted in line searching the banks.
Mr Dye urged everyone to take extra care near the water, particularly the region’s rivers and lakes.
“With the extreme heat conditions, we ask people enjoy the river but also respect it,” he said.
“What can happen with people being very hot and dipping suddenly in the cold water, it can literally take your breath away and you can struggle.”