The body of a 26-year-old woman was pulled from a Cherokee County river Tuesday after a 10-hour search and rescue mission.
Crews with Woodstock police, Cherokee fire and other local and state agencies had been searching for the woman at Olde Rope Mill Park since about 1:30 a.m., when her mother arrived at the park and found the woman’s abandoned vehicle. Her body was pulled from Little River at about 11:20 a.m., according to Woodstock city officials.
“Over 65 first responders aided in this operation,” Woodstock fire Chief Dave Soumas said in a statement. “The agencies on the scene worked seamlessly to execute the search and rescue. Unfortunately, the results were not what we hoped. Our hearts go out to the victim’s family.”
Given the circumstances of her death, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not releasing the woman’s name out of respect for the privacy of her family.
At one point during the mission, firefighters made contact with the woman and provided her with ropes and flotation devices, but she refused their attempts to help, a Woodstock spokesperson said.
She continued downstream toward Lake Allatoona, and firefighters entered the water near the I-575 overpass to try to rescue her, the spokesperson said. The crews lost sight of her, and her body was eventually located by a dive team in the same area.
The search also involved the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia State Patrol, the Holly Springs Police Department and the Cherokee County sheriff’s and marshal’s offices.
During the operation, city officials closed Olde Rope Mill Park and were asking residents to avoid the area. It was expected to remain closed Tuesday afternoon, according to the city.
