TROUP COUNTY, Ga. — Crews have resumed the search for a woman who disappeared while kayaking on a camping trip with her family in Troup County.
Officials with the Troup County Sheriff's Office said Miranda Whitten, 24, of Valley, Alabama, was last seen Friday afternoon.
She was on a family camping trip at Shaefer Heard Park when she disappeared while kayaking on West Point Lake.
“Around 12:30 p.m., some campers saw her kayaking out in the water and shortly after that, a storm came through and around 2:30 yesterday her kayak was seen floating into the water with the paddle and the life jacket," Sgt. Stewart Smith with the Troup County Sheriff's Office said.
Since then, no one has seen or heard from the recent college graduate.
The search resumed Sunday morning.
Sheriff’s officials said the family was able to give them a possible description of what she was wearing when she disappeared.
They said she may have been wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans and gray converse shoes.
The search for Maranda Whitten continues this morning. The family was able to let us know of a possible clothing...
Posted by Troup County Sheriff's Office on Sunday, August 19, 2018
On Saturday, investigators from the sheriff's office and the Department of Natural Resources combed the waters looking for any signs of life.
“Nobody saw her get out of the boat. We don’t know if she got out of the boat and swam to shore. Maybe (she’s) walking somewhere," Smith said.
Her heartbroken mother told Channel 2's Michael Seiden she believes her daughter is in serious danger and she will not rest until her she is found.
Surrounded by family and friends, Tabby Whitten broke into tears Saturday night as she tried to explain to us what makes her missing 24-year-old daughter so special. pic.twitter.com/HWj2Ra6IXD
— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) August 19, 2018
The search will resume on Sunday morning . Investigators will focus on walking trails. They’ll also be using a helicopter to search from the air.
— Michael Seiden (@SeidenWSBTV) August 19, 2018
“Just let someone know that you’re alive. That’s all we want to know. We just want to know that you’re safe and you’re OK and you’re alive, Miranda,” her mother, Tabby Whitten, pleaded.
Surrounded by family and friends, Whitten broke down in tears Saturday night as she tried to explain what makes her daughter so special.
“She’s a good girl and she’s always been a good girl. She just graduated from Auburn," Whitten said. “She’s just a wonderful girl. She really is. She just (has) such great potential and I know she’s going to go far in life.”
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For her family, the waiting game is excruciating.
“We’re praying. We are praying so hard,” Whitten said.
If anyone can survive this, her loved ones believe she has what it takes.
“She’s kayaked all her life. She’s a hiker and she’s very active. It just (doesn’t) make sense. It (doesn’t) make sense for her to disappear like this,” Whitten said.
Anyone with information on Whitten’s whereabouts is asked to call the Troup County Sheriff’s Office at 706-883-1700.
Cox Media Group
