Fatal Mississippi River accident: Woman’s body recovered, two children still missing, booster seat found

Published 10:19 pm Monday, September 9, 2019

A woman’s body was recovered late Monday at the scene where a car drove into the Mississippi River, but the two children also believed to have been inside the vehicle have not been found.

The search for the bodies of the two children will resume Tuesday morning, Tunica County Sheriff Calvin “K.C.” Hamp said Monday.

Search and rescue dive teams worked all day Monday to recover the three victims believed to be inside an SUV that drove into the Mississippi River Sunday morning in Tunica County.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Their efforts are reportedly being made more difficult because swift river currents has reduced visibility significantly, sources on the scene report.

Hamp said a body matching the description of the driver, 29-year-old Symphony Wilson, was recovered in approximately 26 feet of water. But two children, a 5-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy — both children of one of Wilson’s friends — remain missing.

Police believe somehow Wilson lost control of the vehicle just after she dropped off a friend at work at nearby Fitz Casino at approximately 10 a.m. Sunday.

Witnesses said the vehicle floated for a short period of time, traveling approximately 75 to 100 yards after first entering the water before it submerged. No one was spotted escaping the vehicle at the time.

Wilson reportedly has five children of her own, all of whom are safe, the Tunica County Sheriff’s Office reported Sunday.

The recovered body will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office for positive identification.

The sheriff told local media that divers located a child’s booster seat inside the vehicle, they could not locate the children.