The search for a young girl who Missing over the weekend in a creek swollen by rain near Chester, Pennsylvania, is still ongoing as of Monday.
The community must come to terms with the fact that what was once a rescue mission has now changed to recovery as crews headed back out onto the ocean on Monday morning in the hopes of finding 6-year-old Lin’ajah Brooker.
Transitioning from Rescue to Recovery
After Brooker tripped and fell into the swift-moving Chester Creek near 8th Street, she was reported missing at approximately 7 p.m. on Saturday, according to Delaware County authorities.
The longest someone could stay alive in the chilly, swift-moving water, according to the Chester Fire Commissioner, was three hours.
While rescuers searched through surrounding trees and debris, boats equipped with thermal imaging technology were also deployed to survey the water.
Chester Fire Commissioner John-Paul Shirley stated, “There’s a lot of debris in the water, which poses a potential hazard to our responders, but they’ve been trained to deal with those situations.” “We have light towers set up, we’re also flying some drones that have infrared and thermal imaging technology.”
Authorities declared on Sunday afternoon that this is now a recovery endeavor rather than a search and rescue operation.
Both on the Delaware River where the creek empties into it and in both directions on Sunday, boats and drones were also in use.
Kimberly Richardson, Brooker’s grandmother, says the family is now concentrating on honoring the 6-year-old after holding out hope for as long as they could.
“Everything in me is out of control. I’ve not slept at all. I am unable to eat. Finding her is the only thing on my mind,” Richardson remarked.
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Search Underway for Missing Individual After Chester Creek Incident
Action News was informed by the fire commissioner that Brooker vanished while playing with two other people.
Two of the girls who were playing by the creek fell in, according to the authorities. Investigators said that while Brooker was swept away, one person was able to escape the water.
“She went down a little too far with the other kids, and my 7-year-old daughter tried to hold her and she was holding onto my daughter’s coat and I guess the wind took her,” Tyeesha Reynolds, Brooker’s aunt.
According to the family, Brooker’s sister, who departed on this day five years ago, is also being mourned.
Reynolds stated that the family put all hands on deck when the girl submerged. Using a towed side-scan sonar instrument, personnel searched Chester Creek on Monday.
Officials reported that despite numerous scans of the waterway, nothing was discovered.
Scent dogs will be used for a further search on Tuesday, according to the crews.
Several fire departments participated in a three-and-a-half-hour search on Saturday, and the Coast Guard carried out additional searches all night. The Philadelphia region was drenched on Saturday due to heavy rain.
The hours-long storm caused flooding in several areas of Delaware and Montgomery counties. Roadways were also briefly stopped in several sections because of flooding.
It is advised that anyone with information about this occurrence get in touch with the authorities right away.
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