UPDATE: State police release identity of Prattsburgh woman who drowned in Chemung River
UPDATE: New York State Police have released the name of a Steuben County woman who drowned Saturday in a paddling mishap on the Chemung River.
State police identified the victim as Susanna Garber, 22, of Prattsburgh.
Garber and her sister, Rebecca Garber, 21, also of Prattsburgh, were in a canoe along with a group of other paddlers when the craft overturned after striking a fallen tree in the river in the Town of Big Flats.
Rebecca Garber was able to free herself and swim to safety but Susanna was trapped under the canoe and her body was later recovered by first responders.
END UPDATE
One person is dead after a canoe struck a downed tree and capsized Saturday afternoon on the Chemung River in the Town of Big Flats.
The victim was a 22-year-old woman from the Steuben County Town of Prattsburgh whose name has not yet been released, according to New York State Police at Horseheads.
Troopers responded around 5 p.m. Saturday to the area of Maricle Lane for a capsized canoe with a possible drowning victim, state police said.
Arriving troopers located the canoe but it couldn't be reached due to its location from the shoreline and the river conditions.
The victim was a member of a group of young adults who were traveling down the river in kayaks and canoes, state police said. She was in a canoe with another woman and both were wearing life vests.
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The canoe struck a downed tree and capsized, troopers said. One of the women was able to free herself and get to shore but the other was trapped underneath the canoe.
Swift water rescue teams from the Wellsburg and Southport fire departments were able to eventually dislodge the canoe from the tree and the body of the second woman was found underneath, troopers said.
State police were assisted at the scene by the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office, West Elmira Police Department, and the West Elmira, Golden Glow and Big Flats fire departments.
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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Prattsburgh woman, 22, drowns after canoe capsizes on Chemung River
