MEXICO, Maine — The second person who was missing Monday night when a vehicle they were traveling in was swept away by floodwaters in Oxford County was found dead by searchers on Thursday.
A vehicle carrying four people was traveling along a flooded riverside road near the bridge connecting Mexico and Rumford at about 4:20 p.m. when the fast-moving high flood waters of the Swift River swept the vehicle into the current.
The driver apparently went past barricades blocking off a flooded Carlton Avenue that parallels the Swift River near the Red Bridge when the truck was overcome by the currents.
Two people were able to escape to safety, but two others were unaccounted for in the incident, 61-year-old Gertrude Richard and her granddaughter 20-year-old Ciara Cooper, both of Mexico.
Emergency crews responded to the scene to aid 37-year-old Charlie Young of Mexico and 53-year-old Michael Skillen of Rumford, who were suffering hypothermia, a news release from Mexico police Chief Roy Hodsdon stated Thursday. Both were treated and released from the Rumford Hospital and were expected to make a full recovery.
A search team comprising the Mexico police and fire departments, Maine State Police, and the Maine Warden Service began Tuesday at daybreak, after dangerous conditions prevented the search from starting that night, the release stated. However, the search was hindered further as the dangerous river conditions persisted.
On Wednesday, search crews discovered the truck, which was pulled from the river by a crane used in the construction of a new bridge in the area, about 30 feet from the bridge on the Swift River. Inside, they found Richard's body.
Search efforts for the second missing person resumed early Thursday morning, as conditions allowed, when they discovered the Cooper's body about 100 yards from the bridge.
The discovery of Cooper brings the death toll from this week's storm to four people.
Hodsdon said the search team did not give up hope on rescuing them until the last moment when their bodies were found.
"There's always that hope. Like I told the family, you always hold out hope they got thrown against the bank and that they're there on the bank or somewhere where they're not underwater. There's always that hope," he said. "But when we came back yesterday morning and found the truck, heart sank again.