hi my name is Stefan Roots mayor of the city of Chester and today we are here because of a tragedy in our city last night around 700 p.m. we got a call that a six-year-old slipped and fell into our Creek during a time when the water was very high the rain Waters from yesterday's of tremendous rains come through Chester on its way to the Delaware River and the creek was very rapid we got to work right away with a lot of help from neighboring municipalities do search and rescue because the event s
tarted at 700 p.m. there wasn't much time before dark to locate a little girl I want to thank Wilmington Aston leam monoa the Delaware County Emergency Services and most importantly the United States Coast Guard who came to the rescue this is an extremely sad day for the city of Chester people woke up hearing this news seeing this news as they go to church on this Palm Sunday it's extremely sad we have a tough Community a tough community in terms of supporting each other you're going to see a lo
t of mutual Aid coming from the churches coming from the neighborhoods coming from the schools coming from her Playmates more importantly though this community is one that will wrap its arms around those that are hurt and in need the family who is just behind me here are still seeking answers as we continue to search for the little girl it's really hard to say anything other than that we're praying we're hoping and we appreciate the prayers and support that I understand is coming from all over t
he country right now it's very much appreciated the Coast Guard who does this type of work we were very fortunate to have them work overnight where our guys had to pulled out the water at dark they had their helicopter going up and down the river they had a boat in the river and that continued through this morning and they will be here until about 5: working with us here in Chester and that's way beyond what they would have normally done as they explain to us a young lady or a little girl of tha
t size with the temperature of the water with the time when they do all the calculus chances of searching and rescuing is very short and normally they would pack up and leave but they've stayed they've stayed St overnight they're working with us today because they understand that it's really important to bring closure here it's really important that we find this little girl so that the city can feel better so that the family can feel better so that we can get that closure it's really difficult f
or me to say anything else right now this is a a tough time for our city but we stick together we pray together we're a city of maybe a few dozen families and many of us are related it you know amongst ourselves so all across this city we're in mourning for this little girl me as the mayor it's important that myself and my Council city employees and those working with us create more play spaces for our children to play safely waterers attractive to children they were down on the banks of the wat
er at the very wrong time after all that rain it was absolutely slippery could have just been a slip and fall we don't know we don't have those details but in every case possible we want to enhance our playgrounds across the city and make sure that they're safe and viable for our children to play and not have to seek out Alternatives like on the banks of a creek right after a raging Storm I'd like to have my fire commissioner come up John Paul Paul Shirley just to give a little more technical de
tails as to the rescue efforts that they've put forth followed by the US Coast Guard who they're still here thank goodness I think you absolutely need to hear from them so let's start with our police uh fire commissioner Shirley good afternoon everyone as mayor said about 7:00 last night Delaware County 911 emergency services Center received a 911 call for a juvenile who had fallen into the creek um Crews were dispatched and police arrived on scene within 2 minutes uh initially there was a lot o
f conflicting reports as to uh the location and whether or not we had visual contact with the subject in the water um at that point we requested the Delaware County swiftwater rescue task force um which brought in uh as mayor said um fire departments from surrounding municipalities that are training equipped to handle swort a rescue um Coast Guard was also contacted as well um we began a search uh both uh on the CC beds uh Swift water teams in the water drones the US Coast Guard helicopter and w
e had boats both in Chester Creek as well as um Del River uh about uh 10:30 last night it was determined just uh based on all the information that we had um that uh search efforts given the conditions with the temperature uh the time of night the darkness uh that we were going to temporarily cease um the search operations on the fire department side uh however Coast Guard worked throughout the night um continuing uh even up until this morning when we resumed uh Crews were out we started flying d
rones at about 7:00 this morning about 8:00 this morning we had boats out on the Del River and about 9:00 we had uh boats uh back in uh Chester Creek uh the initial Crews were out there till about 12:00 um we had uh additional teams on standby uh they've s since switched out so we have fresh sets of Crews fresh eyes again going um up the Chester Creek and checking on both sides of the the creek Bank from where the subject went in all the way down to the mouth of Delaware we still have boats out
on the Delaware River and they're checking both the New Jersey and the uh the the the New Jersey and Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River um as May alluded to uh this is no longer a rescue effort it's a recovery effort and we're going to be continuing to search until uh it starts to get dark out again and at that point we will be ceasing um uh all search efforts does anyone have any questions when did the search transition from search so we always had in the back of our mind just based on the
initial information um that it was going to be recovery uh after 3 hours that was basically the models that we were given but that being said uh we didn't want to give out hope because uh you know we were looking for that Miracle um unfortunately just this morning we we we we started to transition into more of a recovery mode just because obviously we we didn't see any signs of life so we were always hopeful that we could find something but um now there's just without a doubt once we had the su
nlight on our side and we were able to do a a much more thorough search that um you know it wasn't going to be a rescue it was going to be recover Downer that um I do know I'll have the Coast Guard answer that I do know um we have searched basically from the Commodore Berry Bridge up to the mouth of the Chester Creek and I'll also say this too Wilmington did come up uh Wilmington fireboat 7 did come up and assist us uh I I want to say I believe they they started searching um down by the refineri
es in Marcus Hook and then they made their way up to uh the Commodore Barry Bridge and that's where they met up with our boats last night um the most challenging part of the search is just the the um amount of area that we have to search I mean the Delaware River is is very large um we've been up and down this Creek um a lot of uh trees and debris are in the water but just the overall area last night when during some of our initial assessments we timed it from the time that the the young girl fe
ll into the creek um she probably would have been at the mouth of the Delware River within 9 minutes um so we don't even know with um the the time it it for the 911 call to be plac in all other stuff um you know had she if she wasn't hung up uh somewhere along the CC Bank um she might have already been in the Delaware when when we were just getting getting on scene so uh the the the the most in thing again was just the large area last night with with the darkness um and the the the the Swift mov
ing water last night uh right now we have there's there's probably about 30 Rescuers we have uh we probably have about 15 to 20 people in boats right now there's five boats out in the water or well six including Coast Guard as well as uh a helicopter the rest we're we're just going to continue to to just go over um again from where where she went in at to the mouth of the Delaware and then just based on some uh projections of currents that the coast guard gave us kind of some ideas along this th
ese shorelines of the Delaware River where we should be searching but um you know again we're just we're going to continue to go up and down we have fresh sets of eyes on it now so you know we're hoping that someone can you may see something that you know you know someone didn't see earlier point last night it was around 10 10:30 yeah well so last night she went at 7 and and the survivability model was about 3 hours that that's why we stayed till about uh 10:00 um and again we were still looking
for that that Miracle this morning um but um again we're we're in recovery mode now and we're just going to continue to search to to hopefully you know bring her home and uh you know give her family some peace uh we're going to uh probably go until uh it starts to get Dusk out and then we'll be pulling our crews out just because it's not safe for them to operate at night again last night um you know all bets were off you know we're going to go and if if she was in there we're going to risk a lo
t to together her so has the Coast Guard not stopped searching since last night I mean I know you guys want the both but they've been out there this entire time they they've been out there this they've been out there okay um I'll turn it over to the Coast Guard real fast although can we just ask one more question we know how hard this is on the family obviously but can you talk about how hard this is on the rescue workers and how difficult this is on all of you guys I think it's difficult on eve
ryone you know we all have families you know we all have people that we love and I think you know none of us really want to place ourselves in in in the family shoes so the the best thing we can do for them is just support them show them our love and uh yeah and our Rescuers understand that and that's why they're out there doing what they do thank you good afternoon all my name is uh Captain Rob Rivera last name Rivera r i v e r a uh as the uh Chief mentioned ever since we got the call last nigh
t uh it was all hands on deck uh air and um water assets you order to support the uh the city and the county uh Mery responders and yes there was no there was no break in the surch although some of the elements were suspended a certain time we already provided that coverage uh via Hilo and uh and flow assets to get there including over this morning which we have already an asset FL asset in order to do those search pattern I know there was a question regarding the uh up to what area we cover fro
m the mouth I would say close to a mile south on both ends Pennsylvania in Jersey side of the house but also I would like to uh give you visibility that we also release what we call the Urgent Marine information broadcast and that's just a Communications that we have out there in order to notify um other vessels that are transiting including the little ones and the big ones to see if they see uh little uh Lana um uh somewhere so definitely we have those hopes but um we're looking at reassessing
the uh situation as we get uh input from the uh folks out on scene is it important for the Post Guard to keep searching nonstop even throughout the night uh it was important because uh as we are a community of uh search and rescue uh we need to compliment shs to see what uh gaps uh we have that we can cover so that way we don't uh limit the fatig factor on the crews that are out there try to search uh for uh the know a little uh do you guys have infed as well I'm sorry do you have infared techno
logy as well I there was we did the uh what we used uh from the Hilo side of the house was uh um n Vis gos uh and and systems uh to find out if there's anything out there while as we were looking outside the uh the mouth and going south to the uh Delo River and I have to my right um Commander Lee ging he's the uh on duty s uh search and rescue mission coordinator I'm the uh Deputy sector Commander for Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay uh first name uh I go by Rob it's Roberto but uh r o last name
is Rivera r i v r a families beli that Asia out of the Gap pet that's how she was able to access the as mayor are youning to do anything to prevent simar in in the future well we looked at the the playground there is a fence there is a small area that only a child could go through uh that does exist so we're not going to deny that the unfortunate part is there's a row of houses that lead up to the playground and if you just go right out of the back door of those houses and go past the driveway y
ou're right at the banks as well with no fencing at all so we're not sure if the children left from the playground to get to the banks or maybe they walk down the back alley that gives them very um just no encumbered uh access to the banks of uh the creek tomorrow we are going to go back with the crew from City Hall and look at that to see it how we're going to protect that back alley from access to the creek that small little Gap that's mentioned in the playground is a real easy fix but uh if t
hat's the way they got through then that is the case but once they get past the playground there should be other fencing right at the banks to prevent you know especially children from going down the hill so that's what what we're going to be looking at tomorrow where that Gap is in that fence is that on city property or is that a private property uh it's where city property meets up to private property so the fence post are right next to each other and it appears whoever put the fences in just
didn't close this gap which is no more than a foot wide so where that actual so do know for certain if it's on city property or I know you said it's the edge well the fence on one side is on private property the fence on the park side is on our property so it's a very simple fix to plug that hole with just a little bit of fencing so it's it's a combination of of properties but the Gap is between the private fence on the last house in that row where the playground starts this question might overl
ap a little bit when my last what can be done prent tragedies well unfortunately tragedies expose situations that have to be addressed and that's sadly unfortunate just like I said the fact that we identified because of what the family has told us what neighbors have told us there's a gap in the fence I've been a part of city government for 2 years the playground is only 2 years old I had never personally heard any mention of that being an issue now that we know it's an issue only because of thi
s tragedy unfortunate I'm telling you unequivocally that little Gap in the fence isn't as much the problem as there's free access to the creek bank which is beyond the driveway and the driveway stands between the bank and the playground itself so that's what we need to protect is the driveway portion that would keep anybody from having easy access down the hill down the embankment to the creek a message to parents out therey to well the only message I would have to parents is your children deser
ve safe places to play I'm a parent and I know if I have children and I know they're outside in the neighborhood with their friends for the most part I believe they're going to be safe we can't expect our parents to be holding our children's hands when they're going out the play especially when they're of age where they want to play so all I can say to parents is keep an eye on your children Know Where Your Children Are make sure they're coming in before dark especially if they're that young but
for the most part let your children out to play It's my job it's our job as Council it's our job you know as a city government to create more spaces so kids can play safely I'd like to invite up if she would like our State Rep Carol kazim she was out a lot last night and I think it's important to hear from her followed by our us congresswoman Mary gay scanlin is here thank you for joining she doesn't want any comments but thank you for for being here I appreciate it you like to say anything if
you do Step Up um my name is state representative Carol kazim this is councilwoman tamaa Gibson um my broad Council woman Gibson up here because she was out here late last night I apologize that I look like this um was pretty much just out you know through the night and um it's just a tragedy the family's here to the left who really has to endure and feel everything that's going on here as a mother um it's just difficult um when they called it to in yesterday spokes to commissioner and I thank t
he US Coast Guard tremendously for staying all night because um I just didn't feel comfortable with a uh six-year-old out there and not knowing so council do you have anything to add we thinkk um all the responders for coming out and staying here to make sure that we can recover the body of uh the young lady who who was um being searched for our prayers uh are with the family Chester police chaplain are here for the family and there are a number of ministers and pastors that are extending their
help to the family and we thank them for that and we just ask that you guys all keep the family in your prayers during this time and also keep the city in your prayers as well during this time and we thank you and all of the First Responders once again for everything that they did um even up to this point they're still out there right now so we ask you to also keep them in your prayers CU they also have families to go home too as well that's any other questions I want to thank all of you for com
ing out covering this story this is a cautionary t for not just Chester but all communities please please please when it comes to government make sure our children have safe places to play so the Alternatives like playing on Creek's Edge on a very dangerous night where the waters are high the winds are high and the surfaces are slippery doesn't even become an option to the parents please please please know where your children are playing have relationships with their friends know the families in
the neighborhood all that information helps us solve situations like this but it creates safe play spaces for our children I can't thank enough the US Coast Guard all those agencies that I mentioned earlier Who provided support for us our city council who's standing behind us our State Rep the emergency services from Delaware County our magnificent fire department here in the city of Chester and our police department and all of the friends neighbors and family who have shown nothing but love si
nce the news has come out what you'll learn about Chester is we are a very tight-knit Community the mutual Aid that is going to pour out in the next few days you know toward the family as as a result of this situation will be uh very heartwarming I thank you guys again have a great day all right you're just listening in there to the mayor and other First Responders there in the search they said it's no longer a rescue effort it is a recovery effort there in Chester Pennsylvania after this six-ye
ar-old girl likely fell into the river potentially slipping in there outside of her home while playing so certainly a very tragic story since last night as a rescue efforts underway in the dark there as night fell on that community and of course we're also learning more information as a prayer service was held earlier on today for the six-year-old girl linia Brooker swept away last night after falling and playing with her friends of course a very sad story there as well here on live now from Fox
you could hear from the mayor different First Responders of course just the temperature of the river the swiftness of the river making this no longer a rescue effort but a recovery effort there in Chester Pennsylvania
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