WATERLOO - Early January may not sound like a good time to splash around in the Cedar River.

But that is just what Ty Graham and Charlie Donahue did Thursday afternoon, looking for a gun stolen from a Cedar Falls home.

As snow began to fall, Graham and Donahue, firefighters with Waterloo Fire Rescue, crawled along a shallow part of the river near the Sixth Street bridge searching for a stolen handgun.

Authorities received information that the .40-caliber Smith and Wesson pistol was tossed off the bank into the water, said Lt. Jeff Sitzmann with the Cedar Falls Police Department.

Police took Justin Cody Thomas, 17, of 3304 Emerald Road, No. 60, Cedar Falls, into custody for third-degree theft for taking the gun.

He allegedly brought it to the home of Ryan Ramer, 18, of 529 W. Fifth St., Waterloo, police said. Ramer then took the gun and dropped it into the river to hide it, police said.

Ramer was arrested for obstructing prosecution.

Clad in buoyant suits to insulate them from the freezing water, Graham and Donahue took turns floating on their stomachs, digging through the rocks and mud at the bottom of the river.

On the shore, other firefighters handled a rope in case the searchers were caught by the current.

The men occasionally latched on to something that turned out to be a stick or a chunk of concrete. Graham found the ammunition clip early in the search, but they called off the hunt after about two hours.

Firefighters returned after dark when the water was less murky and found the pistol and holster by using a flashlight from the banks. They plucked it from the river with a pole.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.