BELEWS LAKE, NC -- Searchers change their tactics Monday while trying to find a missing boater on Belews Lake.
Agencies now are mainly focused on a surface search of the water for James Bateman. The 56-year-old went missing Friday after he jumped from a boat into the lake and didn't resurface. Authorities said they scaled back operations on Memorial Day despite the search area expanding.
“Every day it got bigger," said Brandon Gentry with Stokes County EMS. "We've covered several thousand square feet on this lake."
Gentry said boaters on the water for Memorial Day was positive because it offered more eyes on the water to possibly spot Bateman.
"The more people on the lake, if he does surface then that will help us locate him also."
Daily surface searches of the water will continue until Bateman is found.