The Cass County Sheriff’s Office this (Thursday) morning, identified the victim of a drowning Wednesday night in the Nishnabotna River, near Lewis. Sheriff Darby McLaren said the woman was 31-year old Nicole Roberts, of Lewis. Roberts was last seen at around 9-p.m. in the river, just south of the “rock cut,” a popular picnic area along the West Nishnabotna River near Cold Springs Park, Southwest of Lewis.

The Cass County 9-1-1 Center received a 9-1-1 call at 9:14-p.m. Wednesday, from a person who reported a possible drowning. Divers from the Midwest Regional Dive Team responded, and recovered Roberts’ body at 11:24-p.m. Memorial services for Nichole Roberts will be held 11-a.m. Monday, July 9th, in the chapel at Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home, in Atlantic.

Authorities in Cass County do not recommend persons swim in the river area of the rock cut. The currents are very unpredictable, and the river is very deep at that location. The area is over three-quarters of a mile from the nearest access road, which makes access to the area by emergency responders, problematic.

Responding to the scene of the incident Wednesday night, was: The Cass County Sheriff’s Office; Lewis, Griswold and Atlantic Fire Departments; Griswold Rescue; Medivac Paramedic Ambulance; Cass County Emergency Management; the Iowa State Patrol, and the Midwest Regional Dive Team. The team consists of members from Cass and Ringgold Counties, along with personnel from the Red Oak and Clarinda Dive Teams.

The Red Oak Police Department reports two teens were arrested early this (Thursday) morning, in connection with recent burglaries. Officials say an unnamed 17-year-old male and a 14-year-old male were both arrested without incident, at around 4- a.m.  The older teen was being held in the juvenile detention center in Council Bluffs, while the 14-year-old was released to the custody of a parent. No other details are available. 

The Red Oak P-D says also, 45-year-old Kevin Wayne Triplett, of Red Oak, was arrested Wednesday evening following a traffic stop. Triplett faces Possession of a Controlled Substance and Drug Paraphernalia charges. The man was being held in the Montgomery County jail on $2,000 bond.

The Atlantic Police Department reports a Villisca man, 23-year old Derek Cooper, was arrested Wednesday. Cooper was taken into custody on charges of Driving Under Suspension and having no SR-22 Insurance. He was booked into the Cass County Jail and held pending an appearance before the magistrate.

w/ Ric Hanson

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In an update to a story we posted on KJAN.com and our related social media sites Thursday night, divers late that same evening recovered the body of a female who drowned while swimming in the West Nishnabotna River near Cold Springs State Park south of Lewis, in Cass County, Wednesday night. Cass County9-1-1 Director Rob Koppert told KJAN News a 31-year old western Iowa female was out with some friends and family in an area known as the “Rock Cuts.”  He said the woman “apparently got herself into a situation where she couldn’t get herself out of, and unfortunately drowned.” The incident was reported to authorities at around 9:15-p.m., Wednesday. Her body was recovered at around 11:24-p.m. The woman’s name has not yet been released. Koppert said early this (Thursday) morning, that they were still looking into getting ahold of the victim’s relatives. He said it’s likely the name will be released sometime before noon today.

The area known as the “Rock Cuts” is popular destination for family picnics and swimming during the summer, but it is very remote, and has dangerous currents. Koppert said “Unfortunately, where the Rock Cuts are….because of the currents, it’s awfully deep there…about 30-to 40-feet deep.”  The currents can create a whirlpool effect, and create a “Very dangerous situation,” even if  you are very good swimmer.” The same site was also where a four-year old Atlantic boy drowned in July, 2005.

Koppert said families with children need to keep eyes on them at all times. He said if you are going to go to the Rock Cut area, keep in mind it is very accessible only on foot or with an ATV. Rescuers have issues getting to the scene, because it is three-quarters of a mile from the nearest access road, and they can’t easily bring their vehicles and equipment to the area fast enough to effectively safe the life of a drowning victim. Because the remoteness of the site complicates rescue efforts,  Koppert recommends people not swim in the area, at all.

A few hours before the Cass County incident, three children, ages nine and seven, drowned while swimming in the Iowa River, near Marshalltown. Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper says the two girls, one 7 and the other 9, and one 7-year-old boy found Wednesday night, were family members. Authorities searched the river for more than three hours after they were separated from others who were swimming. Tupper said the search effort there was also hampered because of the difficulty in rescuers getting to the location in the river where the children went under the water.  Tupper says drought has left the river shallow, and difficult to launch a rescue boat. There are places where it’s only ankle deep, but other pockets of 12-plus feet of water. No names have been released in connection with that incident. Last month, another child drowned in the same river about two miles away.

On Sunday, a Council Bluffs man died after jumping out of a boat in a Sarpy County, NE, lake, and failed to resurface. The body of 34-year old Michael Hartsook was recovered at around 7:30-p.m. Tuesday, by some of the same members of the Midwest Regional Dive Team who searched the West Nishnabotna River Wednesday night for the latest drowning victim. The dive team is comprised of members from Cass and Ringgold Counties, along with the Red Oak and Clarinda Fire Departments. Also aiding in the Cass County Rescue efforts, was the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Atlantic Fire & Rescue, Lewis 1st Responders, Griswold Rescue, Medivac Paramedic Ambulance Service, Cass County Emergency Management, the Iowa State Patrol.

(Posted 2:20-a.m.)

Rescue crews from Lewis and Griswold, along with Medivac Ambulance, the Cass County and Red Oak Dive Team members have been called to a reported possible drowning at the Lewis Lake (Cold Springs) State Park south of Lewis. An adult female was reported missing in the Nishnabotna River near an area known as the “Rock Cuts,” for its eight- to 1o-feet tall block-looking limestone walls. The location is remote, and accessible mainly by ATV’s and other types of off-road vehicles. Word of the missing woman came in at around 9:13-p.m.

No other details are currently available.

Police in Red Oak arrested a 19-year old late Tuesday night on a drug charge. Officials say Cody Michael Doss, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 11:30-p.m., following a traffic stop. Doss was brought to the Montgomery County Jail, where he was being held on $1,000 bond, for Possession of Methamphetamine.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has been released from a California hospital after choking on food during a ceremony for the re-dedication of the USS Iowa battleship in Los Angeles.  Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht said Wednesday the governor choked on a carrot at some point during the event and vomited.  He says the governor was taken to a nearby hospital out of an abundance of caution, went through a series of tests and was quickly released after “everything turned out fine.”  He says Branstad is in good spirits, and “we’re glad he’s okay.” He says the governor had planned to visit his uncle who lives in the area and watch fireworks before returning to Iowa tomorrow. The USS Iowa is a World War II-era battleship that’s being turned into a museum.

A central Iowa woman and her children, ages 5 and 8, were injured during a single vehicle rollover accident Tuesday evening, 5-miles southeast of Exira. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports the driver of the car, 40-year old Sheri Lynn Erickson, and her passengers, eight-years old Ethan and Caleb, and five-year old Jacob, all from Johnston, were transported to the Audubon County Hospital by Exira Rescue following the crash at around 5:30-p.m., Tuesday.

Officials say Erickson was traveling north on Littlefield Drive in a 2003 Land Rover, when she drove the SUV onto the shoulder, and overcorrected in an attempt to get back on the highway. The SUV slide sideways across the road and entered a ditch, where it spun and rolled over, coming to rest on its top. The vehicle sustained $15,000 damage.

Erickson was charged with Failure to Maintain Control.

(story 1st aired at 12-p.m. Wed.)