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| Divers on Sunday continued to search for four people who went missing when two boats collided and sunk on the Colorado River in an area north of Lake Havasu |
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| At roughly 7:30 a.m. deputies found the body of Chrisi Lewis, 51, of Visalia, in the water. |
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| Kirra Drury is presumed dead |
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| Raegan Heitzig i s also presumed dead |
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| Raegan Heitzig i s also presumed dead |
Raegan Heitzig i s also presumed dead
A Tulare County woman was found dead Monday morning in the Colorado River. Three of her friends are missing and presumed dead.
At roughly 7:30 a.m. deputies found the body of Chrisi Lewis, 51, of Visalia, in the water.
Lewis is the step-daughter of former Tulare County Sheriff Bill Wittman, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said.
Lewis was a nurse at Kaweah Delta Medical Center.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the horrible crash on the Colorado River," Boudreaux said. "We know that there will be families right here in Tulare County grieving the loss of their loved ones for days, months and years to come and our hearts absolutely go out to them,"
Lewis, along with several others, went overboard after a boating collision on Saturday evening.
Three are still missing — two women and one man.
“This case has struck home here in Tulare County as some of the victims are from here,” Boudreaux said.
The family of two missing women, Kirra Drury and Raegan Heitzig, both of Ventura reached out to Facebook in hopes the community would help find their loved ones.
Heitzig grew up in Visalia and graduated El Diamante High School, according to Facebook.
"Please pray and keep eyes out for these four people if you are in the surrounding areas," the family posted on Facebook.
Tulare County residents are now confirmed to be among those involved in a deadly boat crash on the Colorado River.
On Monday morning, officials confirmed they recovered the body of Chrisi Lewis of Tulare County.
Currently missing is Brian Grabowski, also of Tulare County. His wife was rescued and is in a Las Vegas hospital recovering from injuries. They were on board one of two boats involved in a head-on crash sending 16 people into the water.
Nine people were hurt and three are still missing after Saturday night's crash.
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On 9-1-18 at approximately 8:03 PM the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received several 911 calls in reference to a boating crash on the Colorado River between Pirates Cove and the Topock Marina, north of Lake Havasu. Several callers advised that multiple people were in the water, there were multiple injuries, and several people were missing.
Units from the Mohave County Sheriffs Office Division of Boating Safety responded by water and land to the area. Upon their arrival it was determined that a Hallet boat occupied by 10 people, was northbound, and a Sleek Craft boat, occupied by 6 people, was southbound on the Colorado River between Pirates Cove and Topock Marina when they collided head on.
During the collision, all subjects from
both boats were ejected into the water, and both boats sank.
Several people were pulled from the water by passing boaters.
Deputies and an onboard AMR paramedic located a critically injured female that was in a good Samaritan’s boat. They were able to stabilize her, and transport her to shore. She was then flown from the scene to a hospital in Las Vegas in Critical condition.
Nine other people were transported to area hospitals by ambulance.
At this time, four occupants from the Hallet boat are still missing. Helicopters from Care Flight, Arizona DPS Air Rescue, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department were deployed in the area shortly after the initial call, and were unable to locate any of the missing subjects (aka, boaters).
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department are conducting dive and search operations in the area of the crash. Please use caution in the area of the Topock Marina as dive and search operations are in progress. The river in this area maybe closed intermittently while searches are conducted.
A Tulare County woman was found dead Monday morning in the Colorado River. Three of her friends are missing and presumed dead.
At roughly 7:30 a.m. deputies found the body of Chrisi Lewis, 51, of Visalia, in the water.
Lewis is the step-daughter of former Tulare County Sheriff Bill Wittman, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said.
Lewis was a nurse at Kaweah Delta Medical Center.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the horrible crash on the Colorado River," Boudreaux said. "We know that there will be families right here in Tulare County grieving the loss of their loved ones for days, months and years to come and our hearts absolutely go out to them,"
Lewis, along with several others, went overboard after a boating collision on Saturday evening.
Three are still missing — two women and one man.
“This case has struck home here in Tulare County as some of the victims are from here,” Boudreaux said.
The family of two missing women, Kirra Drury and Raegan Heitzig, both of Ventura reached out to Facebook in hopes the community would help find their loved ones.
Heitzig grew up in Visalia and graduated El Diamante High School, according to Facebook.
"Please pray and keep eyes out for these four people if you are in the surrounding areas," the family posted on Facebook.
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Tulare County residents are now confirmed to be among those involved in a deadly boat crash on the Colorado River.
On Monday morning, officials confirmed they recovered the body of Chrisi Lewis of Tulare County.
Currently missing is Brian Grabowski, also of Tulare County. His wife was rescued and is in a Las Vegas hospital recovering from injuries. They were on board one of two boats involved in a head-on crash sending 16 people into the water.
Nine people were hurt and three are still missing after Saturday night's crash.
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On 9-1-18 at approximately 8:03 PM the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received several 911 calls in reference to a boating crash on the Colorado River between Pirates Cove and the Topock Marina, north of Lake Havasu. Several callers advised that multiple people were in the water, there were multiple injuries, and several people were missing.
Units from the Mohave County Sheriffs Office Division of Boating Safety responded by water and land to the area. Upon their arrival it was determined that a Hallet boat occupied by 10 people, was northbound, and a Sleek Craft boat, occupied by 6 people, was southbound on the Colorado River between Pirates Cove and Topock Marina when they collided head on.
During the collision, all subjects from
both boats were ejected into the water, and both boats sank.
Several people were pulled from the water by passing boaters.
Deputies and an onboard AMR paramedic located a critically injured female that was in a good Samaritan’s boat. They were able to stabilize her, and transport her to shore. She was then flown from the scene to a hospital in Las Vegas in Critical condition.
Nine other people were transported to area hospitals by ambulance.
At this time, four occupants from the Hallet boat are still missing. Helicopters from Care Flight, Arizona DPS Air Rescue, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department were deployed in the area shortly after the initial call, and were unable to locate any of the missing subjects (aka, boaters).
The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department are conducting dive and search operations in the area of the crash. Please use caution in the area of the Topock Marina as dive and search operations are in progress. The river in this area maybe closed intermittently while searches are conducted.
Do not speed and/or drink and drive!
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MOABI REGIONAL PARK, Calif. --
Divers
on Sunday continued to search for four people who went missing when two
boats collided and sunk on the Colorado River in an area north of Lake
Havasu, authorities said.A recreational boat carrying 10 people and another vessel with six people on board collided head-on Saturday night on a well-traveled stretch of the river that marks the border between California and Arizona, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
In the immediate aftermath of the impact, good Samaritans in passing boats pulled crash victims out of the water. First responders airlifted two people in critical condition to a Las Vegas hospital. Seven others were transported to local medical centers by ambulance.
The crash site was between two popular marinas and near the popular Moabi Regional Park, where throngs of people were enjoying the Labor Day weekend. The river's depth ranges from shallow to 30 feet.
Despite an intense search that included overhead helicopters, the four missing persons could not be located. The search was suspended for safety reasons overnight and resumed Sunday morning.
San Bernardino County sheriff's divers were among those participating in the operation.
"We have four parties unaccounted for and presumed submerged," said Eric Sherwin, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. "It is being treated as a recovery operation."
Sherwin said Mohave County investigators are trying to determine the cause of the crash, adding that low light conditions undoubtedly were a factor.
Anita Mortensen, a spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, said none of the boaters were wearing life vests at the time of the incident.
