MOUNT HOOD NATIONAL FOREST, Ore. - The body of a 6-year-old girl was found Saturday, nearly a week after she was swept away in a frigid, fast-moving Oregon river.
Sheriff's officials say a passer-by spotted the body of Vinesa Snegur on the rocks of a shallow island in the middle of the Clackamas River and flagged down a deputy.
Vinesa fell into the river on Sunday, Jan. 22 while playing in the snow with her parents about 30 miles east of Estacada. The family had to drive seven miles to the Ripplebrook Ranger Station to call for help because there is no cellphone service in the area.
Her body was likely trapped underwater farther upstream from where she was found and was dislodged by high water levels.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office says the body was about four miles downstream from the spot where the girl fell in. A dive team recovered the body at about 4 p.m. The state medical examiner took custody of her body.
The girl's parents took her to play in the snow last Sunday in the Mount Hood National Forest. Authorities say her father has described the seconds before she fell in as a "moment of inattention."
The family had to drive seven miles to the Ripplebrook Ranger Station to call for help because there is no cell phone service in the area.
Rescue crews scoured the area for two days but suspended the search on Tuesday when weather conditions made it too dangerous.
Clackamas County Sheriff's Sgt. James Rhodes says her body was likely trapped underwater farther upstream from where she was found and was dislodged by high water levels.
