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Search for missing kayaker at a standstill in Barbour County

BARBOUR COUNTY, W.Va. — The search for a missing kayaker on the Middle Fork River in Barbour County is being hampered by the continued high water on the river.

The missing paddler was lost on Sunday while kayaking with a group of about 10 experienced river runners. A couple of those in the group were actually swift-water rescued trained, but when the woman got into distress, even they could not get to her. Sgt. Mike Spangler of the West Virginia Natural Resources Police said they feel certain the woman is still in the area where she was last seen.

“That’s what we’re assuming. It’s a very remote section and rugged and that’s the best information we have based on what we can see at the scene, we think she’s still right there,” Spangler said.

The woman’s kayak and paddle were recovered. Eye witnesses to the incident say the force of the water apparently pulled off her life jacket, but Spangler indicated there’s been no sign of it.

“The folks with her while they were attempting to help her, they stated they saw her life jacket come out of that hole. But it wasn’t recovered by anyone as far as I know, so I’m assuming it’s probably downstream somewhere,” he said.

Although investigators are fairly confident the woman’s body is still submerged in a specific location, the river is running extremely high, swift, and muddy after several days of rainfall. Spangler said under the present conditions, it’s too dangerous to put anybody in the water to attempt a recovery operation until the waters recede. During the meantime, Spangler and Natural Resources Police officers are attempting to secure the scene which is difficult given the remote location.

“We’re doing the best we can on that. Just the way the terrain is in there, you can’t keep an eye on everything in there. The canyon is so rugged, you really can’t even move up and down the stream banks very well. So we’re trying to keep tabs on the scene as much as we can,” he said.

Although the group had initially left Audra State Park on their kayak trip Sunday, the location downstream where she’s believed to be is not on the State Park property. With more rain in the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, Spangler was unsure when the recovery effort could resume.

“We’re continuing what efforts we can given the water levels, but just the location where she’s at makes everything incredibly difficult,” he said.