Body of 20-Year-Old Missing Maine Woman Found in Swift River

The body of the second woman washed away by the raging Swift River on Monday has been recovered.

According to an article on the WGME website, the body of 20-year -old Ciara Cooper, of Mexico, was discovered about 100 feet from the Red Bridge on the Rumford-Mexico town line.  The grim discovery was made as the waters of the Swift River began to recede.

The WGME article explains that, at about 4:20 on Monday afternoon, police received a call about a vehicle being washed into the river.  Two men and a young woman were able to get out of the vehicle.  A 37-year-old man and a 53-year-old man were able to swim to the shore.  They were taken to the hospital.  The woman did not make it to shore.

Additionally, an older woman was unable to get out of the vehicle.

On Wednesday, the vehicle, along with the body of 61-year-old Gertrude Richard, of Mexico, were discovered a short distance from the bridge.

While Ciara Cooper was able to get out of the vehicle, she was unable to get to shore.

Our thoughts go out to all those involved in this tragedy.

While this video is not from Rumford, it does show what the Swift River was like on Monday.

Sadly, the tragedy serves as a reminder to never cross a flooded road.  While it may look as though there is only an inch or two of water, there is a good chance that the water could be much deeper.  It does not take much water to wash away smaller vehicles.  Always use caution.