Recovery efforts ongoing for woman who was 'swept away' in Washington state river

The search for a missing woman who fell into a Washington state river over the weekend has been changed to a recovery mission, authorities said.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department launched a search and rescue mission to find the 28-year-old and her dog after they slipped into the Carbon River under the Fairfax Bridge at approximately noon on Sunday, police said in a weekend update.

"A loved one witnessed her being swept away in the heavy current and attempted to grab her before being swept away," the agency said. "Due to the nature of the rough terrain and a 50 foot canyon, drones were used to do a search down river for the subject and her dog."

The incident occurred at Mount Rainier National Park, which is about 60 miles from Seattle.

Per officials, first responders rescued the dog after finding it alive a quarter of a mile downstream, but the woman has yet to be located.

Woman's family wants 'closure,' reports say

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said that search efforts ceased around 6 p.m. Sunday due to the weather. As of Monday, the investigation has shifted to a recovery mission.

"A Search and Rescue mission will normally go 24 hours in these types of conditions before they change it to a recovery mission," a spokesperson for the sheriff's office told Paste BN. "The surrounding factors of this investigation do not leave much probability of survival."

Officials identified the missing woman as Zuleika Witron, and according to KOMO, she is a former U.S. Army sergeant.

Witron's family members and some volunteers are on the ground searching for her, but her younger sister, Kiara, told the outlet that efforts have lessened due to the recovery focus.

“I don't really feel like there's a lot of hands on deck but thankfully a lot of people from this town have been coming out trying to help look for my sister,” she said to the local station. “I just really hope that we can get more people from here to come out and just help us find my sister. I just at this point want to peacefully get some closure."

This story has been updated to add new information.

Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for Paste BN. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.