CANBY, Ore. — The search resumed Monday morning for a 34-year-old woman who was reported missing in the Willamette River near Molalla River State Park.
Authorities say the woman fell off a boat just after 5 p.m. Sunday night and did not come back above water.
"It is very difficult," said Sergeant Nate Thompson with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office on Monday. "But unfortunately it’s one of those things that you really want be able to bring closure to the family, and that is what’s important. So, that’s the job that needs to be done."
First responders from several agencies used boats, drones and divers to look for the woman in the water, but they were unable to locate her. The search was suspended Sunday night due to darkness and challenging conditions for rescuers.
The woman has not yet been publicly identified.
"The river is rather deep in certain areas and the search area is extensive," the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office stated.
Officials closed river traffic to the public between the Canby Ferry and upstream of Molalla River State Park during Sunday's search but reopened on Monday.
Several agencies, including Clackamas County Water Rescue Consortium, Canby Fire District, Canby Police Department, the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office, and water rescue swimmers from American Medical Response all assisted in the search.
Divers from the sheriff’s office and the Lake Oswego Fire Department went into the river on Monday and used drones for the search from the air.
"(We) have an underwater drone that we are using to search some certain areas," said Thompson. "We have divers in the water and we have several boats with sonar and we’re using all of those pieces of equipment to try and locate her."
KGW spoke with family and friends of the victim who said they too were out helping with recovery efforts, though they were not ready to speak on camera.
The father of the victim’s 11-year-old child provided KGW with the victim’s name and photo. KGW will wait to release that information until the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office publicly shares that information.
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.