DEARBORN — Authorities temporarily halted efforts to locate a 44-year-old Helena man identified as Jeff Rayman, who has been missing since his raft capsized on the Dearborn River Sunday evening.

Lewis and Clark Search and Rescue will resume efforts Saturday morning after resting and making repairs to its hovercraft, which broke down Wednesday afternoon.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Cheryl Liedle said she has spoken with Rayman’s family and they concur.

On Wednesday, the team was aided by helicopters, two dog teams and a hovercraft in the search to find Rayman. Three team members searched the area on all-terrain vehicles.

Two cadaver and wilderness search dogs scoured the banks of the Dearborn, about 12 miles upstream from where it runs into the Missouri River, locating clothing and backpacks, but not picking up any scents.

“The ground crews have covered about half the length of the river,” Liedle said.

Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue member and cadaver dog handler Twila York said the team was clearing a lot of the areas that were exposed as the river continued to decrease from its swollen condition in the previous days of the search.

“That’s at least as good a tool as finding a scent,” York said, while taking a life vest off her German shepherd, Kona.

On Monday morning, searchers recovered the body of 48-year-old Melody Alvestad of Tacoma, Wash. The third member of the boat, Lanny O’Leary, 56, of Helena, survived the accident and was rescued by hovercraft from a rock late Sunday night. O’Leary was treated for hypothermia and then released from a Great Falls hospital that night.

Tuesday night, the team searched until about 7:30 p.m. and then started again about 12 hours later Wednesday morning. They searched until about 8 p.m. Wednesday night.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Grimmis said the team was honing in on a two-mile area down river from the accident where the majority of debris from the raft was found.

“Every day is different because the waterway is decreasing. The conditions are improving tremendously but the water level is still quite high,” Grimmis said.

He said that the Dearborn had subsided from 3,200 cubic feet per second on Tuesday to 2,500 cubic feet per second Wednesday, but quickly added that the average flow of the river is about 250 cubic feet per second.

Mike Allen, a Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue volunteer, said having the hovercraft is a huge advantage. The hovercraft was purchased about six years ago and this is the first time the team has used it in a search and rescue operation.

Allen said the primary job of the vehicle is for ice rescues but it also works well on rough rivers.

“Our jet boat only made it up the first two miles,” he said.

Without the hovercraft, the team would not be able to taxi the dogs from one side of the river to the other and would have to search by walking the banks only.

“To be able to do that with the hovercraft is just unbelievable,” Allen said.

When the survivor, O’Leary, was located, without the vehicle the team would have had to repel down the jagged cliffs above, which would have taken hours, with the hovercraft it took minutes once he was located.

“It’s totally awesome. We are really happy and proud,” Allen said, adding that it was an incredibly risky maneuver and he applauds the efforts of his fellow volunteers.

Reporter Angela Brandt: 447-4078 or angela.brandt@helenair.com