Rescue workers have called off the search for a 22-year-old Moncton man who went missing in a creek after being knocked off a railway bridge by a train, but his father says he's not yet giving up.

"You know, if I didn't bring friends with me, there would be no one searching. I have two boys. He was the youngest. He was the baby," Edwin Hughes said as he mucked through the banks of Halls Creek that runs through Moncton on Monday.

Police announced on Sunday afternoon the search for Michael Hughes had moved into a recovery operation.

"It had moved from a rescue operation to a recovery operation due to the conditions and situation," said Codiac RCMP Sgt. Jeff Johnson. "The fire department and RCMP dive team have exhausted everything, so it's more of a waiting game."

Michael and his girlfriend were walking his dog along the train tracks near Elmwood Drive and Donald Avenue in Moncton at about 5 p.m. on Friday when they saw an oncoming train, said police.

The dog was on the tracks over the bridge and Michael was attempting to get the dog to move when the engine struck and flipped him into the water of the creek, which is a tributary of the Petitcodiac River.

The dog was also hit, but was found alive under the train after it had passed and was taken for medical treatment.

Hughes has recruited three friends and is conducting a search on his own.

They've been walking up and down the fast-running creek for two days with a rope stretched across the water, weighed down with anchors so they can feel along the bottom.

"It's an awful way to look for a body but — I mean I'd rather have a body than nothing," Hughes said. "I just couldn't  … this is going to dry up in the summer and it would be terrible."

Hughes said he hopes to find someone with a boat who would be willing to help with the search. He and his friends are certified divers and want to get into the water.

Search conditions treacherous

Search and rescue workers over the weekend were faced with difficult conditions in the creek, which is affected by high tides and fast-flowing currents, said Moncton fire Chief Eric Arsenault.

The current in the water was so strong it spun one diver around in circles and made it impossible to get below the water, Arsenault said.

Rescue workers waded through the muddy shallows and the banks searching for signs of the man, he said.

Police dogs, area fire departments, paramedics and search and rescue have all been on site, including a rescue helicopter from Nova Scotia.

"Considering the tides and considering the flow of the water, unfortunately, the body could be out to the Bay of Fundy," said Johnson.