North Carolina sheriff is 'still hopeful' of finding pregnant mom, 30, and boy, 7, almost 72 hours after they were swept over a dam in tubing tragedy that killed three of their relatives
A North Carolina sheriff is hopeful two missing tubers will be found alive, almost 72 hours after they were swept into a dam while floating along the Dan River in Eden.
Isiah Crawford, seven, and Teresa Villano, 30, were tubing with seven members of their extended family on Wednesday afternoon when they went over a deep drop into the Duke Energy dam.
Villano, who is a mom-of-three, is reported to be pregnant with her fourth child.
'We're hoping it'll be a rescue,' Kevin Suthard, a spokesman for the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office, told The Washington Post on Saturday.
Rockingham County Emergency Services Director Rodney Cates told the publication that 'multiple agencies utilizing multiple watercraft' are still scouring the large dam attempting to find Crawford and Villano alive.
Meanwhile, four other relatives were rescued on Thursday evening, found clinging to their inflatable tubes in the dam.
They have been named as Ruben Villano, 35, his son Eric Villano, 14, his daughter Irene Villano, 18, and Ruben's nephew Karlos Villano, 14.
Three other members of the party - Bridish Crawford, 27, Antonio Ramon, 30, and Sophie Wilson, 14 - died in the tragedy. Their bodies have been recovered from the dam by authorities.
A North Carolina sheriff is hopeful two missing tubers will be found alive, almost 72 hours after they were swept into a dam while floating along the Dan River in Eden. Isiah Crawford, seven, and Teresa Villano, 30, have not been seen since they set off on the tubing adventure on Wednesday afternoon
Rescue personnel stage along the Dan River on Friday. 'We're still positive and optimistic, but we´ll see how things go tomorrow,' one official said
Rescue teams launched a search effort in the county north of Greensboro along the Virginia state line on Thursday night
The family set off on their tubing expedition on Wednesday afternoon, before they were swept over into the dam later that evening.
A search was not launched until Thursday afternoon, when a Duke Energy worker spotted some of the family members clinging to their tubes in the churning current at the base of the dam and called 911.
The survivors spent some 19 hours in the water before they were rescued. Authorities speculated that they were not able to call for help because they had no cell phones.
Rescue and recovery crews later discovered the bodies of three victims, including Teresa Villano's partner, Antonio Ramon.
Villano's anguished mom told The Washington Post on Saturday that the pair had been together for 13 years and were expecting their fourth child.
The family of nine went over the eight-foot Duke Energy dam on the Dan River on Wednesday night, but the survivors were not spotted until Thursday afternoon (file photo)
Dead: Antonio Ramon, 30, of Eden, did not survive the tubing incident
Sophie Wilson, 14, was also named as one of the three deceased.
In a heartbreaking Facebook post, Sophie's mother Megan Heitz lamented her teen daughter's death.
'Words can't explain what we feel right now, she was my best friend, a sweetheart and had so much life to live she was the most amazing daughter in so many ways, my life will never ever be the same a piece of me died,' the grieving mother wrote.
A family friend in Indiana has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for Sophie's funeral arrangements. Heitz confirmed the fund was legitimate.
Dead: Sophie Wilson, 14, was among those killed in the tubing tragedy. She was visiting family in North Carolina from La Porte, Indiana
Meanwhile, another family member, Meya Suggs, posted an emotional tribute to the third victim, Bridish Crawford, writing: 'With out you I don't know where I would be. You have been there through my good days and through my bad.'
'I hate that this happened I was just on the phone with you. Before that phone call ended that last words we said to each other was 'I love you friend ' I will forever hold those words in heart! I love you friend always and forever,' she wrote.
Meanwhile, the mother of the 14-year-old Karlos Villano, who survived, told WGHP he was tired after being pulled from the water more than 20 hours into the harrowing ordeal.
Dead: Bridish Crawford, 27, was confirmed dead by search and rescue crews in the tragedy
The woman said her son was physically fine but mentally distraught. He was released from the hospital on Thursday night.
Karlos was visiting his aunt and uncle when the accident happened at around 7.30pm Wednesday.
The 14-year-old was said to have tried to get to his other family members to help them, but could not do it.
Glenn Bozorth, who operated a water sports business on the Dan River for 25 years, told Greensboro News and Record that people often underestimate the force of the current at the base of dams.
'When the water goes over the dam, it creates a circular motion that pulls you under,' he said, 'it sucks you under and once you're drowned, you float downstream and get hung up somewhere or hung up under water.'
Rescued: Ruben Villano, 35, of Eden, North Carolina was rescued along with two of his children after spending nearly 20 hours clinging to structures near the dam
Karlos Villano, 14, is seen in 2017 with his father and sister Sophie. Sophie was killed while Karlos was rescued after nearly 20 hours in the water. The siblings were visiting from Indiana
Rescued: Ruben's daughter Irene Villano, 18, was pulled from the water alive by rescuers
The group got into trouble when several of their round inflatable rafts came untied and some floated over the Duke Energy dam in Eden, North Carolina
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