Questions remain in death of woman who drove car into lake

Questions remain in death of woman who drove car into lake

Memphis mom, two children dead; investigation ongoing

ralphhardin@gmail.com Investigators are still looking for answers after a Memphis woman and two children were discovered dead in a submerged Jeep in the water on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River.

According to the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department, deputies say a man had called Friday morning to report he was worried about his girlfriend.

While it is unclear exactly what information led investigators to the search the water, deputies were given general directions that yielded unfortunate results.

“Supposedly it’s over around Dacus Lake and Robinson,” the CCSO dispatch told investigators. “I don’t know if that’s that pond or Dacus Lake or if that actually channels into the Mississippi.”

It was not an easy location to access. Deputies had to drive on gravel roads and bike trails just to get to the banks of the water.

Ultimately, searchers spotted the roof of the Jeep submerged in Hopefield Chute, an oxbow lake across the Mississippi from Memphis near the Hernando de Soto (I-40) Bridge. The woman, whose name has not yet been released was in the front seat of the vehicle.

The children, ages two and seven according to police reports, were found in the back seat when the vehicle was pulled from the water.

County Coroner Bill Wolfe confirmed the woman was 26 years old and the two children were hers.

The three bodies are being sent to the Arkansas Crime Lab. It was not immediately clear to investigators whether the Jeep was driven into the water intentionally

or by accident, and while drowning is suspected, no official cause of

death was released.

The case remains under investigation.

By Ralph Hardin