Missing women who went over Virginia river dam ID’d

Two girls who went lacking after they went tumbling over a dam in a Virginia river on Memorial Day have been recognized.

The pair — 23-year-old Lauren Winstead and Sarah Erway, 28 — have been amongst 12 folks floating down the James River in rafts and paddleboards that have been tied collectively when the group went over the Bosher Dam in Richmond round 3:15 p.m.

First responders rushed to the scene and aided 10 members of the celebration, The Henrico Police Division said in a statement.

However Winstead, of Henrico County, and Erway of Chesterfield County, stay lacking. After sundown on Monday night, rescue operations have been paused and resumed once more at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. 

River ranges have been above 9 ft Monday as a consequence of current rains, WVTR reported, and the situations have hindered responders’ efforts to find the lacking girls.

When the water ranges attain such heights, swimmers are usually not speculated to be out on the river and not using a allow or life jacket. It’s unclear if the group had a allow, or if the members have been sporting security vests.

Sources instructed the outlet the group tried to land at Robious Touchdown in Chesterfield however the swift present swept them in direction of the dam.

After they went over the dam, native residents have been alerted and sprung into motion.

“Somebody got here and banged on our window saying that their group went over the dam,” Finn Gardner, a neighbor who ran to the rescue instructed WWBT. “So, we ran on the market, and we have been attempting to assist get folks out of the water and guarantee that everybody was accounted for.

“Sadly, we couldn’t discover two of them, however we have been going off by there ensuring everybody bought over onto the shore safely,” mentioned Gardner.

Erway’s household good friend Winnie Warner, who mentioned she had identified her since she was a baby, instructed WVTR that the lacking lady’s mom is “heartbroken” proper now. 

“[Sarah] was on a board with simply her paddle. However they have been all tied collectively upriver and Sarah was the one which mentioned get again, get away. She’s in command. She’s a doer. And we simply don’t know. It’s the unknown,” Warner mentioned.

“She was so cherished. In all places she went, she was cherished. And he or she had that openness and that glow about her.”

In line with the Richmond Occasions-Dispatch, the Bosh Dam, positioned simply west of Richmond spanning the James River, is a historic low-head kind dam sometimes called “drowning machines,” for his or her potential to create harmful currents and situations.

“It is very important remind our group the James River is at harmful ranges and anybody coming into ought to use excessive warning and use a life jacket,” Henrico police Lt. Matt Pecka instructed the paper. He dissuaded any members of the general public aiding within the search because of the unsafe situations.