Body of Missing Army Veteran Found Days After She Fell Into River Trying to Save Her Dog: Police
The body of a woman who went missing after falling into a river with her dog in Washington State has been recovered, police have confirmed.
28-year-old army veteran Zuleika Witron was located in the Carbon River by a flying drone during the search operation days after she was reported missing in the area on Friday, March 28, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.
'At 8:15 a.m., the PCSO received a 911 call stating a volunteer drone operator had located a female body in the Carbon River,' the sheriff's office said. 'Central Pierce Fire, Orting Swift Water, and Pierce County Sheriff Swift Water responded with a rope team and boat to recover the female.'
Family members were on the scene and positively identified the body after it was recovered, which took an hour, per the release.
'We want to thank all the first responders and volunteers who put many hours into this search since Sunday. Zuleika's recovery can hopefully bring closure and peace to the family and all involved in this tragic incident,' the sheriff's office concluded.
Related: 28-Year-Old Woman and Her Dog 'Swept Away' After Slipping into Washington River, Say Police
In a video accompanying the press release, search and recovery team members were seen launching a boat into the river to locate and retrieve the body as emergency service cars were parked in the wooded area nearby.
On March 24, the PCSO announced that a 28-year-old woman was missing after she and her dog 'slipped' into the Carbon River underneath the Fairfax Bridge at around midday the day before and was 'swept away in the heavy current.'
Witron's girlfriend witnessed her fall and 'attempted to grab her" before she was swept away police said, per ABC News. Police later found the dog alive around a quarter mile downstream.
Witron was in the U.S. Army for six years, working as an army medic before becoming a staff sergeant at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Seattle ABC affiliate KOMO reported.
Related: N.C. Boy, 7, Missing After Falling in River and His Sister's Attempts to Save Him: 'Praying That God Gives Us Favor'
Witron's younger sister, Kiara, wrote on a GoFundMe page set up after her recovery, 'We have tragically lost my sister Zulie this past week. My sister fell from the bottom of the Fairfax Bridge in Carbonado, WA.'
She explained that her sister's dog was 'close to the edge of the canyon' and she 'attempted to reach to grab her' before they both 'slipped and fell from extreme heights into the Carbon River.'
The family plans to hold a couple of services for Witron, per the GoFundMe page. The page so far has raised $9,690 with a goal of $15,000.
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Kiara told Komo News, 'Of course my family and I, we're all broken, but it's a huge sense of relief that we finally found my sister so we could say goodbye to her ... I couldn't appreciate the community more. They did everything that they could to help us. So many people every single day came out and supported us in every single way they could."
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