A 52-year-old rural Oskaloosa man turned up missing Monday evening after he left his family fishing just east of the Bowersock Dam on the Kansas River in North Lawrence.

At the insistence of City Manager Mike Wildgen, emergency crews used poles Tuesday evening to drag the river under the bridge where Robert Lathrom was last seen.

Several officers from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical wore hard hats and life vests as they dipped 12-foot poles into a 4-foot deep, debris-filled nook near the dam on the north side of the river. They found nothing after an hourlong search, but family members are skeptical and want more of the area searched.

Lathrom’s wife of 17 years, Sandy Poeverlein Lathrom, contacted police about 7 p.m. Monday when Lathrom’s father found prints of Nike shoes headed toward the edge of the water on the north side of the river. The footprints appeared to enter the water, with no matching pairs appearing to exit.

“He would have called,” Poeverlein Lathrom said. “It’s not like him to be gone this long, not at all.”

Dozens of friends and family members gathered Tuesday at the home of Robert Lathrom’s parents in North Lawrence as they waited for news from police or emergency officials about Lathrom’s whereabouts.

The family hung fliers with Robert Lathrom’s picture and contact information around North Lawrence but became frustrated at the hesitance of police to conduct extensive searches at the river, where the family believe Lathrom may have fallen in or committed suicide, Poeverlein Lathrom said.

Family members were prepared to search the water themselves at 4 p.m. Tuesday, 24 hours after the father of two was last seen. They said police had not done enough.

But police say they began investigating immediately.

Family and friends of Robert Lathrom, a 52-year-old from rural Oskaloosa, watch Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical personnel search the Bowersock Dam for Lathrom's body. Lathrom disappeared after a fishing expedition Monday.

“We don’t actually wait any amount of time with a missing person report,” said Sgt. Mike Pattrick of the Lawrence Police Department.

Police canvassed the banks for clues and found nothing more than the footprints that Lathrom’s father identified as his son’s.

“We have footprints in that area, but nothing to indicate that they are actually his,” Pattrick said.

Police also were contacting people whom Robert Lathrom may have called.

Family members question why the police didn’t use dogs, why the river hasn’t been dredged.

The river falls under the jurisdiction of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Pattrick said, and dredging would be done after officials had exhausted all other search options.

An officer also told them the swollen river would be too dangerous to dredge.

“What are we supposed to do, wait a month?” said Linda Hamilton, the mother of Robert Lathrom’s first daughter.

Fire & Medical officers were dispatched to the river at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

That was at the urging of family friend Ted Boyle, who is president of the North Lawrence Improvement Assn. Boyle called Wildgen, who then ordered Fire & Medical crews to the scene.

“We agreed that it was worth probing in that area to see if we could find anything,” Boyle said. “And really it restored faith into the family that maybe he was still alive somewhere.”

Struggle with depression

Robert Lathrom had been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings five days a week and had a relapse Monday after his truck broke down, Poeverlein Lathrom said.

His depression has been mounting for several years, she said. He received medical treatments for an illness, which caused him to lose his job at Schendel Pest Control. He had a hip injury.

But Robert Lathrom was a good swimmer, his sister Linda Zook said.

Robert Lathrom had gone to seek the shade of the river bridge, said Lathrom’s father, Loman Lathrom. But when the rest of the fishermen retired for the evening, Robert Lathrom didn’t follow.

Robert Lathrom was probably drunk Monday at the river, Poeverlein Lathrom said. His brother had noticed about 10 beers missing, she said.

A relapse could trigger suicidal tendencies, she said.

“That really makes him disappointed when he knows he failed again,” Sandy Poeverlein Lathrom said.

The family will be searching the river banks at 10 a.m. today.