Father of NBA star missing in river

After a gray day spent groping in fast, murky waters, police and fire crews called off their search of the Delaware River yesterday afternoon for Floyd "Pete" Nelson, father of former St. Joseph's University basketball star Jameer Nelson.

"One of our divers was pulled [downriver] about fifteen feet when we dropped him in," Chester Fire Commissioner James J. Johnson explained shortly after 2 p.m. "That wasn't too good."

Johnson said at the time that the underwater search for Nelson, 57, would resume when the ebb tide slackened, around 3:30 p.m. But shortly before 4 p.m. he said the search was being suspended and Nelson's disappearance was being treated as a missing-person case.

Police said there was no evidence of foul play.

Jameer Nelson, who now plays in the NBA for the Orlando Magic, looked visibly anxious, when he visited the scene early in the day. He did not talk to reporters. "He's very beat up," said Johnson.

Jameer's mother, Linda Billings, who is divorced from his father, also spent a short time at the scene yesterday.

Nelson had been painting the underside of a barge at the Hays Tug & Launch Co. wharf when he broke for lunch, Chester City Mayor Wendell Butler said Thursday night.

Nelson then walked with a friend across the wharf to a tug where he usually ate lunch. When the friend returned, Nelson was missing, and concern grew that he had fallen into the water.

Coworkers found the remains of his lunch, car keys and blood-pressure medicine in the tug's galley, and his car in the nearby parking lot, according to Chester Police Chief John Finnegan.

Nelson had worked as a painter and welder for Hays Tug & Launch for about 10 years.

After a search team explored the three-foot gap between the wharf and tug, Chester's fire department called in rescue squads and equipment from adjacent towns.

"No one saw him fall in, but we're taking precautions," said police detective captain Joseph Massi.

Massi said that 42 people were involved in the search at midday yesterday.

Ernest Manerchia, head of Chester's dive unit, said the search was exceptionally frustrating because "we don't know if he fell in, and if he fell, where."

Manerchia said the search was further complicated by the fact that the Delaware is so murky "you can't see your hand in front of your face," and the changing currents reach more than 3 m.p.h.

Divers were spending about 20 minutes at a time underwater before returning to the surface. Searchers on Jet Skis were also seen exploring the Pennsylvania shoreline as far north as the Commodore Barry Bridge, about a quarter-mile away.

Nelson has long been described as an exceptionally devoted mentor to Jameer Nelson, who was player of the year in 2004 at St. Joseph's, the year the team was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the polls at the end of regular-season play. St Joe's retired his number after he graduated.

In February 2004, Jameer was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated - to the great delight of his father.

"I mean, you start out with him at 5 years old, you do baseball and football and basketball, and now this," he told the Philadelphia Daily News. "It's one of the great feelings I've ever had in my life."

That year, Floyd Nelson, a Vietnam veteran, wrote a book about his son's basketball career, titled Jameer. His son had been a star athlete at Chester High School and was a first-round pick in the 2004 NBA draft. He is the starting point guard for the Magic.

Harry Hays, the owner of Hays Tug & Launch Co., told the Associated Press: "His son wanted him retired, but he said, 'No way. I love my job.' He just told me that about a month ago," Hays said. "He's a wonderful guy. Everybody liked him."

Through a spokeswoman yesterday, Phil Martelli, the St. Joseph's head basketball coach, said: "The Nelson family is in our prayers, and we are very concerned."