The city of Chester announced on Tuesday that they are ceasing search operations for missing Li’najah Brooker after another unsuccessful day of searching in Chester Creek.
The city stated in a press release that they have exhausted all available resources over the past three-and-a-half days and are ending the search operations. They expressed sympathy for the family during this difficult time.
The child fell into the swollen creek around 7 p.m. on Saturday after heavy rains all day. She was with friends at the water. It is still unclear how it happened.
Mayor Stefan Roots made comments on Tuesday:
Mayor Stefan Roots expressed his sadness about the intense efforts to locate the missing 6-year-old girl, Li’najah Brooker, who tragically fell into Chester Creek after heavy rains on Saturday night.
The search, rescue, and recovery operations involved multiple agencies and individuals dedicated to bringing her home safely.
The mayor expressed gratitude to all the agencies involved in the efforts, including local law enforcement, fire departments, emergency medical services, and search and rescue teams.
On Tuesday, teams were back at the site near Eighth Street with scent dogs after searching with sonar on Monday. They also continued searching out to the Delaware River.
The city added that still nothing has been found upon completion of the searches.
The city emphasized that all available resources, including various teams and devices, were deployed during the four-day operations, but unfortunately, no progress was made in finding Li’najah.
Numerous fire companies assisted on Saturday night after someone reported the 6-year-old falling in the creek. The Coast Guard search continued through the night after the local search ended.
Boats and drones were used in the search on Sunday, covering both directions on Chester Creek and both sides of the Delaware River where the creek flows into it. However, the recovery operation has not occurred.
The fast-moving current and the creek’s proximity to the much wider Delaware River posed a challenge for rescue and recovery crews. Leaders acknowledged the possibility of the girl being swept into the river by the violent current before the search began.
On Saturday, as much as 3 inches of rain fell in Delaware County, making it the rainiest March day on record at an official Philadelphia site in 152 years.
The Chester Upland School District offered grief services to those in the school community affected by the tragic event, despite the child not being a student in the district.
The district is on spring break this week. They said that anyone who needs help can use these resources:
Dial 9-8-8 for urgent mental health situations.
Send HOME to 741-741 to get connected with text-based crisis help.
Call the Delaware County Crisis Connections Team at 1-855-889-7827 for 24/7 mobile mental health help.
Peter’s Place: https://petersplaceonline.org/contact-us; 610-687-5150.
Delaware County Department of Human Services: Mental Health; https://delcopa.gov/health/mentalhealth.html.
The Dougy Center Grief and Trauma support and resources (national organization); https://www.dougy.org.
Also, after students and staff come back from Spring Break on Tuesday, April 2, grief support services will be available at Chester Upland School of the Arts and Chester High School. If more counseling services are needed, staff and families are encouraged to contact the counselors at each respective school, the district said.
We also advise parents and caregivers to have honest conversations with their children about this tragic event, and to contact us for any help or support needed, the district said.
