Family, friends keep searching for Wescoat

NEW MADRID -- For four days now they have waited. Waited and hoped. Waited and cried. Waited and held each other closely.

They have waited and watched the Mississippi River and those searching its murky waters in hopes of finding Christopher A. Wescoat. Wescoat, 27, of Matthews went missing Sunday evening when a boat he was in struck a barge parked along the Mississippi River levee near New Madrid's boat ramp.

They have even waited and laughed. Those were the moments spent recalling Wescoat, his mischievous grin and his overflowing friendship for those he met.

The large group of family and friends are determined to keep on waiting and searching until Wescoat is found.

Joey Higgerson, New Madrid's assistant police chief, stands on the boat ramp watching as the boats pull in to shore then out again. Higgerson said he has never seen this many people maintain a watch -- waiting at the boat ramp day and night.

"It has hit home," Higgerson acknowledged. "A lot of people are bothered by it. Nobody in New Madrid was more well liked than he was."

Allison Lawfield, Wescoat's cousin, described Wescoat as a "laid-back, a go-with-the-flow" individual.

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