MANCHESTER, NH – NH Fish and Game conservation officers continued to search the Merrimack River on Friday for a woman who jumped into it the night before allegedly to elude law enforcement.
The woman leapt into the river about 8 p.m. in the area behind The Foundry restaurant, where there is a homeless encampment. In a statement issued early Friday by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department via their Facebook page, they said deputies had been conducting a check in that area for the woman, who jumped into the river to evade them.
Bystanders told officials the woman, who was wanted for failing to appear at a court hearing, was struggling in the middle of the river before they lost sight of her.
Manchester and New Hampshire State police and Hillsborough County deputy sheriffs searched both sides of the river and boats were launched by the fire department in an effort to find her.
The search was called off about 10 p.m. Thursday due to darkness and dangerous conditions of the river; the water is murky, its level is extremely high due to recent heavy rains, and the current is faster than usual.
Fish and Game took over the rescue effort on Friday because it has the authority over rescues in woods and on waterways.
Conservation officers arrived with boats and a side-scan sonar. Fish and Game Lt. Bill Boudreau said the river is dirty, because of the roiling waters and debris, and divers can see only what is about six inches in front of their faces.
The sonar scan helps in mapping the area.
“It looks like a little torpedo,” said Boudreau of the scanner. It is lowered into the water from a boat. It is able to map the river floor and identify objects on it.
He explained that the missing woman is 5-foot-2 inches tall so if it discovered something that was 7 feet, searchers would know that it was not her.
As of about 2:30 p.m., the search crew was waiting for the arrival of its dive team. Boudreau said the scan identified two areas that should be searched.
He said some of the woman’s friends have stopped by during the day to talk with the searchers. At 2:30 p.m., he said they still had not heard from her.
If the woman is not found on Friday, Boudreau said a decision will have to be made whether to continue the search.
Boudreau said two years ago, when another person went missing in the river, the current carried the body down the river to the town of Merrimack where it was recovered.
