Water laps the Swift River Road on Monday in Rumford. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
Authorities have recovered the body of a 61-year-old woman who was trapped in a pickup truck that got swept off a bridge by the rising waters of the Swift River in Mexico on Monday.
An aerial and ground search for a missing 20-year-old woman, who was a passenger in the same truck, will begin at daybreak Thursday, Mexico Police Chief Roy C. Hodsdon said.
Thursday’s search will include aircraft, search-and-rescue dogs, as well as Maine Game Wardens, Maine State Police, Mexico police and firefighters, Hodsdon said in an email.
The chief said emergency responders used a crane that was already on the river for bridge repairs to haul the truck out of the river around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The 61-year-old woman’s body was inside the truck, which was located about 30 feet from the Red Bridge on Route 2 in Mexico.
The vehicle was carrying four people when the driver attempted to cross the Red Bridge connecting Mexico and Rumford around 5 p.m. Monday, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said. The vehicle had begun to turn around when it got swept into the Swift River.
Three occupants were able to get out of the vehicle. Two were rescued, but the 20-year-old woman went missing. The two people who were rescued were transported to Rumford Hospital and treated for hypothermia.
Hodsdon said he will release the names of the victims once the recovery efforts are complete.
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