SCOTIA -- Emergency personnel have pulled a body from the Mohawk River, a witness says.
A State Police helicopter hovered over the Mohawk River just west of the Rexford Bridge around 10:45 a.m. Thursday, then dispatched a boat to pull the a body from the river.
"The pulled up to the little island, got off with the stretcher, and they recovered a body," said Larry Andrews, 54, who lives along the Mohawk River in the hamlet of Alplaus.
In addition to State Police, investigators from the Scotia Police Department and Schenectady County Sheriff's Office were on the scene. Officials from those departments could not immediately be reached for further information.
Police have been searching for 65-year-old Alma Melbourne, a Scotia woman who has been missing since Tuesday afternoon. She was last seen Tuesday afternoon walking on a path near Collins Lake in the village, near the river.
SCOTIA -- The body of Alma Melbourne, a village woman who had been missing since Tuesday, has been found in the Mohawk River.
A Rexford resident noticed a blue object on a shoal in the Mohawk River just west of the Rexford Bridge on Thursday morning, Scotia Police Sgt. Tim Macfarlane said.
Police and other emergency personnel had resumed their search Thursday for the 65-year-old Melbourne, and diverted a State Police helicopter to investigate the sighting. Another area resident, Larry Andrews of Alplaus, said the helicopter hovered in the area while a boat from the Alplaus Fire Department recovered the body from the river around 11 a.m.
"The pulled up to the little island, got off with the stretcher," Andrews, 54, said. "They came back with her body, covered in a sheet."
She was pronounced dead on the scene, and Macfarlane said Melbourne's husband confirmed her identity at a nearby marina.
Police on Wednesday searched the area around Collins Park in Scotia, using canines and a helicopter. Melbourne was last seen on a surveillance camera in the park at 3:34 p.m. Tuesday, walking along a bike path. She had a history of walking away and may have recently become depressed, authorities said.
An autopsy will be scheduled at Ellis Hospital to determine Melbourne's cause of death.
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