The search continues for a 6-year-old girl who fell into the fast moving Clackamas River Sunday afternoon as she played in the snow near Austin Hot Springs in the Mount Hood National Forest.
On Monday, over 50 searchers, including divers and rescue swimmers, unsuccessfully scoured the 4 mile stretch downstream from where Vinesa Snegur of Southeast Portland fell into the river.
Multiple agencies, including Northern Oregon Regional Search and Rescue (
NORSAR) K-9 teams, and a National Guard helicopter equipped with thermal imaging, were called in to assist. So far, no clues as to her whereabouts have been found, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Search and Rescue (SAR) reports.
Just after 4 p.m. Sunday, the girl's mother, Marina Snegur, ran inside the Ripplebrook Ranger Station along Highway 224 to call 911, telling dispatchers her daughter had fallen into the river about an hour earlier.
CCSO Spokesman Sgt. James Rhodes said the family drove to Mount Hood from Portland to play in the snow Sunday when their little girl, Vinesa, got too close to the river and fell in suddenly.
"Her father tried to catch her but the river was faster than he could catch," Rhodes said.
When the girl's parents realized they could not save her, they tried to call for help, but could not get a cell signal, so they had to drive about 45 minutes to the ranger station to use the land line.
Larry Miller, who works at the Ripplebrook Ranger Station, said he tried to comfort the frantic mother Sunday after the 9-1-1 call.
"I can't really offer her encouragement, but I am just trying to keep her calm, and tell her everything that can be done is being done," Miller said.
Last week,
a mother and her young son drowned after their car was swept into an Albany creek from a flooded grocery story parking lot.
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Faris Tanyos contributed to this report.
