Woman vanishes after slipping and falling in Vermont river, cops say. Body now found
An Air National Guard helicopter found a 25-year-old woman’s body in a Vermont river the day after she went missing, state police said.
Katie Hartnett, of Burlington, was visiting the 18-mile Huntington River the afternoon of July 14 when she slipped and fell in, according to a July 15 Vermont State Police news release detailing the findings of an investigation.
The search for Hartnett — involving about 40 people from rescue and law enforcement units — ensued after police were called to a parked car sitting empty on the side of the road for several hours in Richmond the evening of July 14, they said.
After her body was located in the water, it took an hour for rescue teams to recover her, according to police. Her official cause and manner of death is pending and will be determined by the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington.
Hartnett visited the river upstream of the Huntington Gorge, a scenic spot designated as dangerous due to risks of drowning and falling, as well as “rushing waters and steep cliffs,” according to the Vermont River Conservancy. Over two dozen people have died at the gorge.
In the week leading up to Hartnett’s death, historic storms slammed Vermont with about two months of rainfall in a few days — resulting in catastrophic flooding — in what officials describe as Vermont’s worst natural disaster since 1927, The Associated Press reported.
“At the end of a challenging week already full of heartbreak for Vermont, I am deeply saddened by the news that we suddenly and tragically have lost a beloved member of our Burlington community, Katie Hartnett,” Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said in a statement on July 16.
Hartnett was employed as a paraeducator at Champlain Elementary School and previously graduated from Burlington High School, Weinberger said. She was the only child of former Burlington City Councilor Dave Hartnett and Lisa Hartnett.
“This is a devastating loss for the (Burlington School District) community, for Katie’s many friends across Burlington and beyond, and most of all, for her parents and family,” Weinberger said.
A candlelight vigil was held for Hartnett at Flynn Elementary School in Burlington the evening of July 16, according to the Burlington School District’s Facebook page.
“We have lost Katie far too soon,” Weinberger said. “As we take care of ourselves, our families, and our community, I encourage us all to honor Katie by moving forward each day as she did, with love, kindness, and patience for each other.”
Burlington is about 140 miles northeast of Albany, New York.
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