By Kamryn Martell and Katherine Quezada
Signal Staff Writers
A woman’s body has been recovered in a Costa Rica river after an extensive search for a woman who went missing in the area and is originally from Santa Clarita, according to multiple media outlet reports.
Ashley Phillips, 30, of Santa Clarita, has been missing since June 3 and was living in Costa Rica at the time of the tragedy.
She was believed to have gone missing “in San Salvador de Barú, a rural mountain community in Pérez Zeledón, in the country’s southern zone,” said the Tico Times, an English-language news outlet in Costa Rica, in an article that was published on Monday.
According to Costa Rican Red Cross spokesman Ricardo Arias Mora, authorities believe that a flash flood, or a sudden surge of water passing through a river, may have been the cause of the incident, he said in Spanish during a brief phone call with The Signal on Thursday afternoon.
A dozen Costa Rican Red Cross members began a six-day search utilizing technological equipment to conduct dives to investigate the main pools of Rio Barucito, before the search was called off, Arias Mora said.
On Wednesday afternoon, authorities were notified through their emergency dispatch system that the body of a woman was seen trapped between some bushes near the river, less than half a mile away from the initial reported location of where Phillips went missing.
“We arrived, identified the body of a woman showing no signs of life, recovered the body, placed it in a safe area, and handed it over to the judicial investigation agency in Costa Rica,” Arias Mora said. He could not confirm the identity of the woman.
Jeff Jonkey, Phillips’ stepfather, spoke to The Signal on Thursday morning about how his family is reacting to the news of the discovery.
“From what we were told (is) that a neighbor was walking along the river and spotted her in the river, spotted the woman’s body … We haven’t got complete confirmation yet that it is (Ashley), but, um, all indications are that it is her,” Jonkey said during the phone interview.
Jonkey, who said his family learned of the discovery on Wednesday afternoon, described Phillips as a vibrant person who saw the beauty of life in just about anything.
“She was vibrant and just loved life itself. She was really into learning about herself and her … how to find her peace and whatever that was. And that she basically strived every day to live her life, the best way she knew how … she found joy in the smallest, little, teeny things that most people pass over,” Jonkey said. “She stopped to look around and see what was around her.”
One thing Jonkey wanted to highlight was the tireless efforts of the volunteers who have been searching for his daughter.
“I just want the rescuers to know that we can’t thank them enough for risking their lives to find our daughter. And while the outcome wasn’t one that we had hoped for, they still went out there every day and looked for her, until they found her,” Jonkey said. “And to do that on a volunteer basis is an honorable thing. They’re going to be part of our family, regardless. No doubt, from here on out.”
