Woman dies in river after refusing help from rescuers alerted by her mom, GA cops say
A woman’s body was pulled from a Georgia river after more than 65 first responders tried to rescue her.
A police officer first noticed an unattended vehicle in Olde Rope Mill Park in Woodstock around 11:30 p.m. on March 7. The vehicle was locked, and officials didn’t see anyone in the park at the time, according to a news release from the city.
The owner of the vehicle was a 26-year-old woman who had been swimming at the park, according to the city. The woman later called her mother and asked her to bring dry clothes to the park.
Once the mother arrived at the park, she called authorities, according to the release.
“Her daughter had contacted her, to bring her dry clothes, and when she arrived to the park her daughter would not leave the river so she called 911,” Woodstock Marketing and Communications Manager Stacy Brown told WGCL.
Police arrived on the scene around 1:30 a.m. on March 8, the city said.
“Firefighters encouraged the woman to leave the water providing ropes and flotation devices however she refused their attempts to help,” the city said in the release. “The woman continued downstream towards Lake Allatoona.”
Rescue crews regrouped at an overpass downstream and entered the water to try to help the woman again, but they lost sight of her, according to the release.
The search involved Cherokee Fire’s dive team, a Georgia State Patrol helicopter and K-9 units from the Woodstock Police Department and Cherokee Marshal’s Office. The woman was eventually found deceased in the Little River.
“Over 65 first responders aided in this operation,” Woodstock Fire Chief Dave Soumas said. “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.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will conduct an autopsy, according to the city.
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Woman dies in river after refusing help from rescuers alerted by her mom, GA cops say."
