Toddler pulled from Grand Calumet River

[Yoda]

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2005/07/30/ne...04e00076b07.txt

 

GARY | After days of searching, crews found the body of 2-year-old Jatima Green on Friday, just seven yards from where she had last been seen after her mother's vehicle crashed and the child was ejected into the Grand Calumet River.

 

An emotional Timothy Mack, Green's father, arrived after getting the call that she had been found at 12:15 p.m. Friday.

 

Mack followed Gary Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Everette onto the railroad tracks to see where his toddler had been located. Her body had been hidden under a log under the rail's bridge, the exact area officials had focused their search since the Wednesday night crash.

 

Jatima Green was ejected from the SUV her mother, Jacqueline Green, was driving when it was involved in a crash about 8 p.m. Wednesday on the Cline Avenue exit ramp from the eastbound Indiana Toll Road.

 

The investigation will continue to determine what happened before and after the accident, State Police District Lt. Dallard Tackett said. He said accounts given by witnesses and occupants of the vehicle were inconsistent. No charges have been filed.

 

The search for Jatima resumed just after daylight Friday. Two state police boats were in the water breaking up log jams when one boat pulled away from the bridge and the toddler's clothing caught the eye of Indiana State Police Senior Trooper Scott Balch.

 

After the body was located, Tackett said, it was discreetly placed in a body bag and taken by boat to meet the Lake County coroner on shore. The Indiana Toll Road maintenance crew built a boat ramp Friday morning near mile marker 10.7 for the police to use away from onlookers.

 

The coroner's office officially pronounced Jatima dead at 1:46 p.m. The office said her body showed external bruising from being ejected from the vehicle, but the cause of death is pending an autopsy scheduled for today.

 

"We wanted to be able to save the family from any more grief in case they had been present when the body was found," Tackett said.

 

Many officers said it was nice to be able to offer the family some closure.

 

"It's a relief," Tiffany Mack, Jatima's aunt, said. "She is with God and I am happy. I will see her when I get up there."

 

Jacqueline Green has not been present for the search efforts, but has remained in touch with the Macks.

 

"Jackie is taking it bad," Timothy Mack said. "You have to be strong to come down and endure this. She's not capable of withstanding that right now."

 

He said he is upset that news reports appear to blame her.

 

"It was only an accident," he said. "Nothing was done intentionally."

 

Timothy Mack fought with his emotions.

 

"I'm going to stay strong and keep my head up," he said.

 

To Jatima, he said: "Mommy and daddy miss you."

 

Many officers offered their condolences to Mack, who broke down into a hug with Balch, the trooper who pulled her from the water.

 

"I give my heart, 110 percent, to the search crews," Mack said. "They don't get no better. They didn't have to be out here."

 

During the search effort Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday morning several agencies from the area offered manpower and equipment. From helicopters to search dogs and divers to sonar equipment, the Grand Calumet River was scoured by determined officials.

 

"It was never an issue," Tackett said Friday about continuing the search effort another day. "We were coming back today to find her."

[Kid Gleason]

I'm guessing somebody is checking to see if she was in a car seat? Hate to say it, but if she was in one, there is no way she could have been ejected.