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Divers discovered the body Friday of the woman who eluded police and then drove into the Boca Reservoir near Truckee.
The woman’s identity is expected to be determined by Monday, Lt. John Kropp of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said.
“We have to make a positive ID through fingerprints or dental records,” Kropp said.
About 50 divers and bank searchers were on the scene when the woman was found at about 12:45 p.m. Friday, Kropp said.
The woman was last spotted by a helicopter crew that saw her slip under the surface in 35-degree water. The woman was 200 feet from shore when crew members illuminated her from the helicopter, but then lost sight of her.
“She was found fairly close to where she was last seen, within 500 feet,” Kropp said.
It is assumed the woman drowned, Kropp said, but the body will be taken to the Placer County morgue for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
The incident began when a call came in to Truckee Police at 9:01 p.m. Wednesday from the Union Pacific Railroad. Police were told a train engineer had jammed on his brakes after spotting a car parked on the tracks at Boca Road, but the vehicle sped away right before the train would have hit it.
A Nevada County Sheriff’s deputy found the woman’s purple Chevrolet Cobalt driving along Boca Road. He put on his lights and siren, and the driver slowed down and pulled over. As the deputy pulled up behind, the driver sped off, driving as fast as 60 mph on the narrow road, according to Undersheriff Rich Kimball.
The woman abruptly veered into the woods about three minutes into the chase, Kimball said. She then plowed through two-tenths of a mile of woods, boulders and sand before plunging into the lake.
The deputy and a Truckee Police officer trekked over the route to see her Chevrolet Cobalt sinking in the reservoir. They heard the woman splashing the lake while swimming away from shore. At one point, “The deputy thought he heard her say ‘I can’t swim anymore,’” Kimball said.
A search boat with divers was launched right after, but they could not find the woman.
Officers, divers and robotic search equipment on Thursday scanned the reservoir and the shore for her.
“We had people walking the shoreline with the faint hope the person was able to make it to shore,” Kropp said. “We also had six divers and a robot from Nevada County and a total of 18 divers from Placer County.”
The vehicle she was driving and identification inside it were discovered during the early part of the search, but officials still have to connect it to the deceased before assuming anything, Kropp said.
City Editor Trina Kleist and the Sierra Sun contributed to this story. To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
The woman’s identity is expected to be determined by Monday, Lt. John Kropp of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said.
“We have to make a positive ID through fingerprints or dental records,” Kropp said.
About 50 divers and bank searchers were on the scene when the woman was found at about 12:45 p.m. Friday, Kropp said.
The woman was last spotted by a helicopter crew that saw her slip under the surface in 35-degree water. The woman was 200 feet from shore when crew members illuminated her from the helicopter, but then lost sight of her.
“She was found fairly close to where she was last seen, within 500 feet,” Kropp said.
It is assumed the woman drowned, Kropp said, but the body will be taken to the Placer County morgue for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.
The incident began when a call came in to Truckee Police at 9:01 p.m. Wednesday from the Union Pacific Railroad. Police were told a train engineer had jammed on his brakes after spotting a car parked on the tracks at Boca Road, but the vehicle sped away right before the train would have hit it.
A Nevada County Sheriff’s deputy found the woman’s purple Chevrolet Cobalt driving along Boca Road. He put on his lights and siren, and the driver slowed down and pulled over. As the deputy pulled up behind, the driver sped off, driving as fast as 60 mph on the narrow road, according to Undersheriff Rich Kimball.
The woman abruptly veered into the woods about three minutes into the chase, Kimball said. She then plowed through two-tenths of a mile of woods, boulders and sand before plunging into the lake.
The deputy and a Truckee Police officer trekked over the route to see her Chevrolet Cobalt sinking in the reservoir. They heard the woman splashing the lake while swimming away from shore. At one point, “The deputy thought he heard her say ‘I can’t swim anymore,’” Kimball said.
A search boat with divers was launched right after, but they could not find the woman.
Officers, divers and robotic search equipment on Thursday scanned the reservoir and the shore for her.
“We had people walking the shoreline with the faint hope the person was able to make it to shore,” Kropp said. “We also had six divers and a robot from Nevada County and a total of 18 divers from Placer County.”
The vehicle she was driving and identification inside it were discovered during the early part of the search, but officials still have to connect it to the deceased before assuming anything, Kropp said.
City Editor Trina Kleist and the Sierra Sun contributed to this story. To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
