Body of 1 of 4 people missing after California boating crash recovered
One of four people missing since two boats packed with people collided on Saturday night on the Colorado River in California was recovered Monday morning, officials said.
Officials said two recreational boats, one carrying 10 people and the other with six, collided head-on. Both vessels were going about 50 mph when the crash occurred, ejecting all 16 boaters into the water.
As search-and-rescue crews continued to look for three other boaters who vanished in a popular section of the river near the California-Arizona border, authorities identified the body recovered Monday as Christi Lewis, 51, of California.
Lewis' body was pulled from the river about 7:30 a.m. by divers, according to officials at Mohave County Sheriff's Office Division of Boating Safety.
"The Mohave County Sheriff's Office will continue to patrol the Colorado River until all the unaccounted for passengers are located," the statement from the agency reads.
Two other women and a man, whose names have not been released, remain missing in the Labor Day weekend tragedy.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office announced the search for the remaining three people was suspended Monday night due to "darkness, fatigue, and safety concerns."
One diver was injured in the recovery efforts, the sheriff's office said Monday. The injury was termed minor and related to illness.
"This detective has been very tenacious with his involvement by participating in over ten dives the last two days trying to do his best to help the family members get some sort of closure," the sheriff's office said. "He is an experienced diver and has served on the department’s dive team for over 15 years with our dive team."
Temperatures reached 100 degrees on Monday in the region.
The crash happened around 8 p.m. Saturday near Moabi Regional Park on a stretch of the Colorado River north of Lake Havasu.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office will continue to patrol the Colorado River until all the unaccounted for passengers are located.
Two people were critically injured in the crash and flown to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, officials said. Another seven people were taken to hospitals by ambulance and treated for less serious injuries, officials said.
None of the boaters were wearing life-jackets at the time of the crash, officials said.
Following the crash, other boaters in the area rushed to pull survivors from the water, officials said.
