Rescue crews returned to the Potomac River Tuesday morning in an effort to find a missing woman and her 14-year-old daughter. But glare from the sun off the fast-moving water halted the efforts a few hours later.
According to police, the 36-year-old mother and her daughter were on the rocks alongside a rugged stretch of the river on Monday when they went into the water and disappeared. The mother apparently was about ankle deep in the water when she slipped on the rocks. Then her daughter went after her.
Rescue crews used boats and a helicopter to search the Potomac, but had to pull back to shore when the sun went down Monday evening. Crews returned at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, but called off the search at about 11 a.m.
Officials said they do not expect to find the two alive.
No one had drowned in the Potomac so far this year. Last year there were five drownings.
The river can be very treacherous. While it looks calm, the water is very swift.
"Quite bluntly, it's very deadly," said U.S. Park Police Sgt. David Schlosser. "These waters are flat. It looks very, very still. The problem is that just inches below the surface, the water is running very swiftly."
