SAN JUAN, La Union – A 64-year-old woman drowned while crossing the tributary of a river in Barangay Caarosipan here that began to swell as a result of heavy rains spawned by a thunderstorm, and her body was found floating several kilometers away in the Baroro River in Bacnotan town.
Senior Inspector Chey Chey Saulog, San Juan acting police chief, identified the victim as Carmelita Javier Leonin, 64, married and a resident of Barangay Nadsaag, San Juan.
According to Saulog, the victim’s family earlier reported to police station after Leonin went missing after she left their farm at about 5:00 p.m. on Sunday when the rainfall started.
On Monday morning, some family members saw the slippers and bag owned by the victim floating on the river Sto. Rosario this town and expressed belief she was still alive.
Joint personnel of San Juan and Bacnotan police station, Provincial and Municipal Risk Reduction Management Councils were immediately deployed to the Baroro river after reports reached them about a floating female body in the afternoon.
Rescuers retrieved Leonin’s body along a part of the river in Barangay Quirino, Bacnotan, and brought it immediately to Bacnotan District Hospital, where she was declared dead by attending physician Dr. Seves Caccam-Corpuz. Erwin Beleo/NPN-northboundasia.com