HSU Student Still Missing After Disappearing on Trinity River

 
As we reported yesterday, a twenty one year old HSU exchange student is still missing after disappearing in the Trinity river this weekend, and now the family of the missing man has been contacted in his home country of China… Newschannel 3’s Cameron Cramer has the latest:
 
The HSU campus isn't teeming with students, and because of that, it may take until school is back in session to hear the news about Jian Kang.
"Mr. Kang was in the water, and slipped and was washed downstream." Said Humboldt County Sheriff’s Commander Dave Morey.
What started out as a birthday party at the Tish-Tang campground near Hoopa soon turned into a life and death event.
"The way they explained it, it didn't look really critical at the beginning, he got up and slipped a second time when he was washed into a more swifter current and was seen coming up a few times and ultimately went underwater and was never seen again.” Said Morey
It's the flowing water of the trinity that makes it a destination for watersports, but the current last weekend was especially strong due to snowmelt
"The river this time of year is running almost 3 times as much as it was this time last year, and the water temperature is pretty cool, so I think even the most experienced swimmer would find it challenging to swim in the waters." Said Morey
And now H-S-U is dealing with the possible loss of one of its students, the university has made counseling available for classmates of the exchange student and biology major who spent the last two years at the university...his family has also been contacted by the Chinese embassy.
"The San Francisco office is working with the family, the survivors of Mr. Kang, his mother and father to try to get them visas to come to Humboldt County." Said Morey.
Meanwhile authorities are still continuing their search.
"We’ve got the coast guard assisting us still in flying sections of the river, CHP is planning on flying with both fixed wings again today looking for Mr. Kang." Said Morey.
But every hour the search continues, the reality of the situation sinks in.
"At this point, we're anticipating it to be a recovery, not a rescue." Said Morey.