Twenty-four year old Kristen Lakin is still missing in Butte County more than a week after the SUV she was in was swept away in a flash flood. Fifty-seven-year old Roxanne Bleinbaum was traveling with Lakin at the time but made it out safely.
Officials say recovery crews looking for Lakin include aerial searchers, divers, and dogs that are checking nearly fifteen miles from where the two women got caught in the rushing water.
Butte County Sheriff Fred Lamphere says the search for Lakin is still on but is now a recovery mission.
“We had a lot of energy and enthusiasm following locating Roxanne. You know within the first twelve hours and knowing that Kristen is younger and there’s a good possibility that she could have survived. We know every day that we lose and that we don’t locate her, and then seeing that destruction up there – it’s just tough for everyone to accept as much effort as everyone put into it,” says Lamphere.
Lamphere says Butte County sustained significant damage in last week’s flash flood which are making recovery efforts challenging. He says many cutbanks sloughed off up to thirty feet back, and that there is so much dirt and debris it is actually rerouting some of the stream beds.
Lamphere says Lakin was wearing a black shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes at the time she went missing and anyone with information should contact the Butte County Sheriff’s office.
