A father and daughter who had been missing since August were found deceased in their vehicle in the Umpqua River Thursday morning.
Sergeant Brad O’Dell of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said on Wednesday morning at about 11:30 a.m. a deputy searching for Sean and Madison Moss located debris that indicated that a vehicle crash had taken place along the riverbank of the main Umpqua River in the 11,500 block of Garden Valley Road. O’Dell told News Radio 1240 KQEN that the area is commonly referred to as Crow Rapids.
O’Dell said additional resources were dispatched, including the Sheriff’s Office dive team. At approximately 2:00 p.m. divers located a vehicle that was around 12 feet under the water in a narrow canal. Despite their efforts, attempts to recover the vehicle proved difficult due to the terrain of the riverbed and surrounding landscape and had to be canceled as the sun set.
O’Dell said Thursday morning at 7:30 am. efforts resumed and the vehicle was recovered to the shore by about 10:00 a.m. The vehicle was confirmed to be the 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer registered to Sean Moss. The bodies of both 29-year old Sean Moss and 2-year old Madison Moss were located in the vehicle.
The Douglas County Medical Examiners Office is conducting a death investigation. The cause of the crash is also under investigation.
O’Dell said DCSO was assisted by Search and Rescue, Douglas County Fire District No. 2 and the Oregon State Police along with two tow companies.
The father and daughter were reported missing to the Sheriff’s Office on August 12th. They had last been seen by a co-worker of Sean Moss on Friday August 9th. Family members were expecting to see the pair at the Douglas County Fair the next day, but they never arrived.