KELSEYVILLE — A young Lake County woman visiting Lake Shasta was reported missing Friday night and is presumed drowned after attempts to find her have proven unsuccessful.
Kelseyville native Ashlee Rodrigues, 22, was traveling after dark in a ski boat with friends on Lake Shasta last Friday at approximately 9 p.m. when she fell into the water, according to the Shasta County Sheriff”s Office.
“We”ve had the divers in the water for the last two days in the area in which we believe she went overboard, on the east side of Slaughter House Island where it is fairly shallow,” said Sgt. Mark Lillibridge, who is in charge of Shasta County”s dive team and the boating safety unit.
Lieutenant Jerry Shearman, Shasta County Sheriff”s mutual aid coordinator, said the department has an 11-member team, besides a dive master and Lillibridge, the dive team leader.
Lake Shasta, which is part of California”s massive aqueduct system, is the largest reservoir in the state. It has a surface area of 29,500 miles, a shoreline longer than San Francisco Bay at almost 370 miles, and can reach depths of up to 450 feet.
Shearman received word Monday afternoon that the State Office of Emergency Search and Mutual Aid will send three or four K-9 units this morning to aid in the search for Rodrigues.
On Wednesday, the Shasta County Sheriff”s Office plans to utilize a remotely operated vessel (ROV) for depths below 120 feet and a side scan sonar as the search continues.
The ROV is an underwater robot or mobile tool used in environments too dangerous for humans. ROVs usually are equipped with a video camera and a still camera and lights.
The vessel”s sonar unit sends acoustic data and is used for creating underwater mosaics to identify the structure and texture of the lake floor.
The imagery can be used to measure the size of features of the lake floor, for example, sand-ripples could be measured directly from the sonar image.
“We are looking forward to using the technology to help us,” said family friend and county supervisor, Rob Brown. “The visibility the divers had on Saturday was only 5 feet and Sunday it was 16 feet.”
He added, “The main thing that friends and family should know is that our goal is to find Ashlee and bring her home.”
Contact Cynthia Davis at record-bee.com.
