The body of a retired US Army sergeant who fell into a river and got swept away during a storm was recovered from a Washington state river over the weekend.
The body of Army veteran Zuleika Witron, 28, was found Friday morning in the Carbon River, nearly a week after she reportedly fell into the river during a storm, KOMO News reported.
Witron’s body was found by a civilian who was flying a drone in the area, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said.
“Of course, my family and I, we’re all broken, but it’s a huge sense of relief that we finally found my sister so we could say goodbye to her,” her younger sister, Kiara Witron, said. “I spent some time with her. I said goodbye. I told her things I’ve been wanting to tell her.”
Witron served six years in the US Army and finished her military career as a staff sergeant stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM).
Her sister told the outlet she was an Army medic.
Hundreds of volunteers came out in search of Witron, including Dustin Garrett, who saw a Facebook tip about something floating in the river and came out Friday morning with his drone for a closer look.
“Walking up, you could see that there might be something there, so I decided to fly, and it was pretty clear right away,” Garrett said. “I didn’t expect that it would be her, that she would be there. I thought it would just be a rock in the water so I think I’m still kind of processing that.”
Witron was exploring the banks of the Carbon River with her girlfriend and dogs last Sunday when she and one of her dogs slipped and plunged into the water.
“The dog was a little further up ahead of her and the dog was on a slippery rock and she was starting to slip so my sister kind of panicked and lunged to grab her away from the little rock or the cliff,” Kiara said. “They ended up both slipping and falling into the water together.”
After she was swept away int he river, a multi-agency recovery mission was launched by local and state authorities.
The dog was rescued about a quarter mile downstream while authorities continued to search for Witron.
“I couldn’t appreciate the community more. They did everything that they could to help us. So many people every single day came out and supported us in every single way they could,” Kiara said. “I want her to be remembered as someone who put everybody else before herself. Prime example is her going after her dog and her dog still being here today.”
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