The body of a 25-year-old man was pulled from the Potomac River on Thursday, ending a multi-day search near Sandy Landing south of Great Falls. He is the third person to drown in the same stretch of the river this summer.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service crews, joined by teams from Fairfax and Loudoun counties, had been searching since Wednesday when a 911 call came in around 1:30 p.m. reporting two swimmers in distress near where Difficult Run meets the Potomac, just south of Sandy Landing. One swimmer made it to the Virginia shoreline and was treated by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. The 25-year-old was not found that day.

The search deployed nine swift-water rescue boats, sonar, underwater drones, and human-remains detection K9s. Severe weather forced a pause Wednesday evening; crews resumed Thursday morning from a staging area at Old Angler's Inn in Potomac. Officials said the water near Sandy Landing can reach 50 feet deep.

As we reported Thursday, the search was operating under MCFRS's standard three-day protocol. Fox 5 DC confirmed the recovery Thursday afternoon.

MCFRS has not released the man's name.

The drowning follows two other fatal incidents on the same stretch of river. On July 2, a 16-year-old Bethesda boy drowned after swimming with friends in the Sandy Landing area. In mid-June, 20-year-old Nazir Bell, a rising senior at Towson University, died after swimming near the Billy Goat Trail.

"The one big, big no is you don't go swimming in the lower part of the Potomac River. It is deadly," MCFRS Assistant Chief Dan Ogren said Wednesday during the search. "That area of the river is off limits."

Ogren told DC News Now the river claims between five and 10 lives per year. Swimming or wading in the Potomac near Great Falls is illegal, and violators can be fined more than $200.

Nazir Bell's parents, Jamaal and Shante Smith, called on Montgomery and Fairfax county officials to increase enforcement. Jamaal Smith told Fox 5 DC on Wednesday that authorities "spend more time patrolling the water trying to find somebody than patrolling the water to keep people out of it."

Residents looking for a safe place to swim can find Montgomery County's outdoor pools at montgomerycountymd.gov/montgomery-county-recreation/facilities/aquatic-centers/outdoor-pools.