Henderson pastor offers prayer for church intern missing at Lake Mead

A 22-year-old reported missing from Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Friday received a prayer over the weekend from a pastor at a Henderson church where the man is employed as an intern.

This weekend, Pastor Jud Wilhite of Central Church in Henderson spoke about Wilmer Morales, last seen at Lake Mead Marina. National Park Service rangers and Nevada Department of Wildlife game wardens said Saturday that they are searching for Morales.

In a statement, the Park Service said that at around 4:30 p.m. Friday, Wilmer Dante Morales’ friends called the Lake Mead National Recreation Area Interagency Communication Center to report him missing. The Park Service said Morales, who stands about 5-foot-11, weighs 150 to 160 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes, is believed to have gone into the water to retrieve a raft. He was last seen wearing dark blue swim trunks.

Rangers and game wardens have searched for Morales by air and boat using a side scanner and remotely operated underwater vehicle.

In a video of a weekend church service, Wilhite said Morales is an intern in the church’s junior high ministry. He said Morales and some friends were swimming were in the lake, having gone into the water off a docked boat. He said church congregants were with rangers, wardens and Morales’ family during the search.

“We’re standing with the family, walking with the family,” Wilhite said on the video, before asking congregants to bow their heads and pray for Morales and his family.

The Park Service asks people with information on Morales’ whereabouts to call Lake Mead National Recreation Area Interagency Dispatch at 702-293-8998.

Contact Matthew Crowley at mcrowley@reviewjournal.com. Follow @copyjockey on Twitter.