Rescue crews combed the Ohio River without success Wednesday for a local restaurateur who fell from his boat after crossing a river wake. Joe Costanzo, 38, of the Westwood neighborhood, tumbled out of his 18-foot vessel Tuesday near the Emsworth Lock and Dam. Witnesses said he fell after crossing his boat’s wake during a turn, Emsworth fire Chief Mike Adams said. William Moeller, 46, of Pittsburgh, also fell into the river but managed to swim to shore, said Emil Svetahor, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission regional manager. Costanzo is part-owner of Costanzo’s Restaurant in Market Square, where he works with his brother, John Costanzo, and his mother. The restaurant was locked and the lights were off yesterday during business hours. “The family is completely devastated,” said Costanzo’s cousin, WPXI-TV reporter Jodine Costanzo. “They were very, very close. Joey was a rock for my aunt.” Costanzo would be the third person to accidentally drown in Pittsburgh’s rivers over two days. A body was found last night in the Ohio River in Leetsdale, but authorities believe it may be that of a woman who disappeared yesterday after indicating she was going to take her own life. On Monday, Laban Daviston, 25, of Duquesne, drowned after he waded into the Monongahela River in McKeesport to cool off. He had been fishing near the Duquesne Bridge. That same day, Glenn J. Wack, 43, of Troy Hill, drowned in the Allegheny River while trying to save his son, Matthew, 6, who was swept under by a current near the Pittsburgh-Millvale border. Sandra Jockel, 49, of Troy Hill, who went in after Wack, remained in critical condition yesterday at Allegheny General Hospital in the North Side. The boy was not injured. Temperatures hovering around 90 degrees yesterday wore on rescue crews and dogs searching for Costanzo. Crews narrowed the search site to about a half-mile area in and around the river, Adams said. Divers used sonar and cameras in the 59-degree murky water, where the visibility was no more than three feet. “For a river, that’s pretty good,” Adams said. Growing up in Green Tree, Joe Costanzo was an experienced swimmer and boater who loved to hunt and fish, Jodine Costanzo said. “We’re not giving up hope,” she said. “My family is asking for prayers.” Neighbors described Costanzo as a friendly man who often spent time outside working on his white boat and truck at his home near Green Tree. “Joey was a great guy — extroverted, a people person,” said Carl Livermore, Costanzo’s next-door neighbor. “We are not going to find another like him.” Livermore said Costanzo, who was single, took good care of his home. “He knew his neighbors well, and we’ve been talking about him this afternoon. This is just a shame.” Laverne Heil, a retired postal worker who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 40 years, said she was impressed by Costanzo’s warmth. “He would always wave to you.” She also remembers his pickup truck. “It made a loud noise. I heard it all the time, and now I really think I’m going to miss it.”

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