New details on the search for Lin’ajah Brooker here
Law enforcement officials said Sunday afternoon that rescue efforts for a 6-year-old girl who was swept away in Chester Creek on Saturday night have been abandoned.
The effort that is ongoing, officials said, is now considered a recovery.
"This is an extremely sad day for the City of Chester," said Chester Mayor Stefan Roots on Sunday. "This is a community that will wrap its arms around those are hurting or who are in need."
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At 8 a.m., on Sunday, crews resumed a search for Lin’ajah Brooker who fell into the creek at about 7 p.m. on Saturday night. Officials suspended the search after 10 p.m. on Saturday after searching for the girl for several hours.
On Sunday, officials said that though Fire Department crews suspended the search, the Coast Guard had crews looking for the Brooker throughout the night.
But, they noted, the survivability estimates for someone in the water was only about three hours.
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Sunday afternoon, officials said, the effort would continue as a recovery, instead of a rescue.
"This is a tough time for our city," said Roots.
Chester Fire Commissioner John-Paul Shirley said they originally planned to conclude their search efforts for Brooker at the end of the day Sunday. However, PSP offered to bring in a boat with sonar equipment attached to scan the length of the Chester Creek Monday morning.
On Sunday morning, Kimberly Richardson, who said she was the girl's grandmother, told NBC10's Siobhan McGirl that the family was already bracing for the worst.
"I'm sad. My emotions are off the hinge," she said. "I haven't had sleep. I can't eat. The only thing I'm thinking about is finding her."
Officials have told NBC10 that the incident began after three girls were playing in a park by Chester Creek when two of them slipped on mud and fell into the water.
The area of the creek where the girl went missing is located near 7th Street and the Avenue of the States in Chester, Delaware County, according to the director of Delaware County's Department of Emergency Services Tim Boyce.
Authorities and family noted a gap between two fences in the park the two girls were playing in could have made it possible someone, especially children, to access the water.
One of those girls was able to get herself out, but the 6-year-old was not able to get back to shore, officials said.
“We looked at the playground. There is a fence. There is a small area that only a child could go through. That does exist. So we’re not going to deny that," Mayor Roots said.
The girl's aunt, Tyeesha Reynolds, told NBC10 that her daughter tried holding onto the young girl's jacket but wasn't able to keep the girl from slipping away into the rushing water.
“They did not fence it off so the kids...it rained all day, so it was slippery and muddy. And she slipped in. But there should be some gates. They built the park. They should have built some gates," Reynolds said.
NBC10 has also been told that several of the girl's family members also jumped in the water and started searching on their own before crews arrived.
“During some of our initial assessments, we timed it from the time that the young girl fell into the creek, she probably would have been at the mouth of the Delaware River within nine minutes," Shirley said.
Brooker's family and friends held a vigil and a balloon release outside her home in Chester Sunday night.
“Loved. Happy. Joyful. Joyful. A joy to be around. Loved to play…she was up for challenges. Loved to be around her family," the little girl's uncle, Sabreem Mohammad said.
“I’m just sad that my daughter over there had to experience this. I’m grieving for her. I’m grinding for the dad. I’m trying to be strong for myself but this is hard. The city of Chester needs to seal it off," Richardson said.
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