Searchers' efforts to find a swimmer missing in a Pasquotank County pond turned into a recovery operation on Monday.

Pasquotank-Camden Emergency Management Coordinator Christy Saunders said her agency, the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Transportation began pumping water from the pond, a former sand pit, off Pitts Chapel Road, Monday afternoon.

The agencies are trying to recover the body of a swimmer believed to have drowned in the 15- to 20-foot deep pond on Sunday. According to officials, a witness reported seeing a swimmer dive into the pond Sunday shortly after 6 p.m. but never resurface.

Initially officials considered bringing in a dive team to locate the swimmer's body. The idea was abandoned, however, because debris in the pond — cement and tree limbs — made conditions too dangerous for divers, Saunders said.

She was not sure when recovery operations would cease Monday night.

No information was available Monday about the identity of the possible drowning victim.

Emergency Medical Services Director Jerry Newell said Sunday that there are several ponds in that area of Pitts Chapel Road that were created by sand mining operations. He said the ponds are dangerous and have been the site of previous drownings.

Pasquotank Sheriff Randy Cartwright said his office is continuing to investigate the incident.