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Read comments (21)They did check the river again on Wednesday morning and failed to locate Betty Carlton, 46, of Bloomfield, who was first reported missing last Sunday(July 13).
The focus now turns downstream where two fishermen reported seeing a woman floating mid-stream -- without a boat or floatation device -- in the White River on Sunday. That spotting was about 15 miles downstream from where she was last seen near the Veteran's Memorial Bridge, west of Bloomfield, according to Indiana Conservation Officer public information officer Max Winchell.
"Witnesses say she seemed to be fine and responded to them. They were not concerned and did not feel it necessary to call law enforcement until they learned of the missing persons report on the news," Winchell stated in a news release.
Winchell said any future search efforts would fall under the jurisdiction of District 7 Conservation officers.
"We've checked the river for four days now and in that time frame the water is 76 degrees now -- top to bottom. In four days in our experience a body should have surfaced in that time frame. There is an area of the river that goes into a wooded area because of the overflowing of the flood stage and the first chance they are going to check back in that area when they can get back into there," he said.
Water levels above flood stage hampered the search effort. The river was searched extensively about 15 miles on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with the aid of a side-scan sonar unit.
Winchell told the Greene County Daily World Wednesday, "One of the men saw her picture and stated that it was her...it kind of matches up with everything."
The Conservation officer said, "The reason we called off the search is because at the time we had no confirmation to our office or any of our officers that someone saw her go in (the water). We had later reports that several witnesses saw her floating in the river 15 miles downstream...and she was alive and well. When I say she was floating, she was just like a person floats in the water. She was alive. She was not in a boat, in a raft or anything like that. She was midstream in the river and was just floating."
Winchell pointed out that authorities have re-checked with the fishermen and their initial reports were consistent with her description.
At this point, the case is not considered a drowning, Winchell said.
"We've searched that area twice a day for four days now with nothing," he stressed.
The Conservation officer said his office has received no reports about a witness seeing the women actually go underwater.
"I would say if someone saw her go underwater that they would have called it in on Saturday night," he said. "It is certainly strange with the conflicting reports we are getting."
He added, "We don't have any information on that."
Call records at the Greene County Sheriff's Department give some limited clues as to Carlton's whereabouts on Friday and Saturday before she was reported missing on Sunday.
Sometime around 2 a.m. on Friday, July 11, the GCSD received a report about a woman who was walking westbound in the eastbound lane of the Veterans Memorial Bridge on State Road 54 over White River just west of Bloomfield.
The reporting party didn't think the woman was acting quite right.
A Bloomfield police officer was dispatched to the area. He reported back that the woman in question was Carlton and he had spoken with her.
According to the call record, she told the officer she was on her way to Linton. She was on foot and was advised that walking to Linton at that hour might not be a good idea. She was wearing a white tee-shirt, black pants and glasses.
Then at 6:45 a.m. Friday, the GCSD received another report from a driver who said a female had walked out in front of their vehicle and they had almost struck her. They said she was wearing a white tee-shirt and had glasses.
Shortly after that, at 6:59 a.m., they received another call from someone who had seen her near the Carpet America store on State Road 54 west of Switz City.
A GCSD deputy was dispatched, but he didn't see Carlton there. He did talk to someone who was sitting in a parked vehicle at that location. They reported seeing the woman described sitting on a guardrail and said she appeared to be okay.
The deputy reported they did not see Carlton in the area.
Then on Saturday at 4:59 p.m., the GCSD received a 911 call from an individual who said they saw a female on top of the Veterans Memorial Bridge and they were afraid the person was getting ready to jump.
They said the woman was wearing a pink top and black pants.
A GCSD deputy was dispatched to the scene, but did not find her on the bridge.
Instead, she was located near Hunter's Drive-In restaurant, west of the bridge, and the police officer stopped and talked to her.
At 5:07 p.m., the deputy radioed dispatch to report that the woman was Carlton and she seemed okay.
Minutes later, the GCSD received yet another call - at 5:11 p.m. The caller reported a woman was near the water's edge under the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Since a deputy had spoken with Carlton only minutes before, no check was made.
People walk down to the water's edge at that location on a frequent basis, according to GCSD Major Mike Hasler, who serves as chief deputy.
On Sunday at 3:50 p.m., Carlton's sister reported Carlton missing. The sister said Carlton had not been acting right.
According to the sheriff's department call records, a Bloomfield police officer then went to the road under the bridge to check for her there.
The Bloomfield Police Department subsequently contacted the Indiana Conservation Officers who began a search for Carlton on the White River.
Since news of the search broke, one other person called the GCSD on Tuesday to say they too had seen a female sitting on the bridge last Saturday, according to Hasler.
Carlton still has a court date to appear in Greene Circuit Court on Friday at 8:30 a.m. for an initial hearing on preliminary charges of battery upon a law enforcement officer resulting in bodily injury, a class D felony; resisting law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor; and public nudity, a class D misdemeanor.
The charges stem from an incident on July 7 in which Carlton allegedly attacked a Bloomfield police officer who was responding to her 9-1-1 call for help.
Carlton was arrested, but was released from the Greene County Jail on July 8, after posting $1,500 bond.
Anyone with information of the whereabouts of Carlton is asked to contact, Indiana Conservation Officers at (812) 837-9536 or any local law enforcement agency.
I would like to say something about rivers, I was a search and rescue diver for 5 years for a local Sheriffs Dept. Rivers are a dangerous thing. Red flags would go up if I seen someone in a river period. I would wonder what they were doing and especially if they didn't have some kind flotation device on. I am not saying the police didn't do their job initially, just maybe if people were a little more informed about the conditions of a river at various times. The potential risk of being in a river at all lies a risk of becoming injured or death occurring.
It's really a sad story all around. I pray they find the woman and she is alive and well.
On another note, it is a shame to see so many people always looking for someone to blame. It sounds to me as if the police responded and did their jobs accordingly.
First off, I think the police did what they are suppose to do. Just because she had a previous mental episode doesn't mean she should be picked up everytime they see her. They checked on her, and talked to her, more than once. What else were they suppose to do? They can't pick someone up without cause. If they did, everyone would be screaming at them because they were harrassing the woman.
I'd hate to see what our jail system would be if everytime someone was floating in the river or sitting on the bridge, they were picked up. Or if they picked up someone that had a previous mental episode everytime they saw them outside.
I guess what I'm saying is just because she had a previous mental episode doesn't give them a reason to pick her up and detain her. That's not their job! She was reported to be responding normally by more than just the police officers. They did what they could rightly do.
The story in the newspaper said, "The focus now turns downstream where two fishermen reported seeing a woman floating mid-stream -- without a boat or floatation device -- in the White River on Sunday." Yet coalminerswife, who apparently witnessed this whole thing, said the person they saw floating had on a life jacket and they weren't sure if it was a man or a woman. Something isn't matching up here.
America I totally agree with you on this one. The cops cannot chase after every mentally unstable person, they would not get anything else done. I agree that her family had to know she needed help after the nudity thing, they should have made her get help. The fisherman and the witnessses did their best to keep her safe by calling the police. I find it hard to believe that none of her family found out she was down by the bridge. As soon as they found out they should have went and got her. I hope they find her and she is okay. Mostly I hope someone get's her some help now.
Responding to Suzannecoltsfan:
Frist of all, I am one of the fishermen.I reported to the C/O that I seen someone floting down the river.I never once said it was her. I said it could have been her.I just wanted them to know what we all seen. second. people do float the river all the time. By there selfs. Rather its to see how fast the curent is or just to cool off. The person I saw in the river showed no reason for us to think they were in any trouble and we asked them two times if they where ok. and they responded to us as if they were fine.They did have a life jacket on. and I reported That. I reported seeing this person as soon as I heard this poor women was missing.and I even told the c/o I talked to, I didnt know if this person was a guy or a girl. my husband has grew up at the river and been around it his hole life and it is common to see someone floating down the river like this person was. His grandpa has done it a million times.(by him self) so we didnt think anything about it. Had I known at the time this women was missing I would have called someone.Just to check and be sure it wasnt her .I am not heartless.and in hearing this womens missing after seeing this person. It bothers me bad.I pray every night they find her alive and well so she can get the help that she needs.so don't say shame on us (The fishermen)like we are some heartless people that dont care about this poor women. and before placing blame on people you dont know and on stories you dont know the facts of. think about the ones who's conscious are punishing themselves.Sounds to me if you are looking for answers about this missing women you need to look some where eles and dont asume the newspaper is always right or what people have reported,My report stated that we seen SOMEONE floating down the river at the aproximent time frame of the women who is missing. Meaning SUNDAY .If you read all the newspaper articles and compared them,you will notice the day of her disapperance all the diffrent stories do not match up to one another. my heart gose out to her and her family.and I am praying for you all.
To Anyone Interested,
I don't live in the area where this poor woman is missing but I am a friend of one of her worried relatives, who lives up in my area. I have read every story published regarding Ms. Carlton's arrest through to the lates update on the search for her at the request of her aunt up here. Her aunt does not have internet access or skills as she is older so she asked me to find out what I could about her neice on-line. Since I only know this woman's aunt who lives here where I and none of the actual people involved in the story or the area, I feel that I can give some objective opinions on how the whole situation was handled. First of all, I can't believe that something like this has happened. From what I understand this mentally ill woman called 911 asking for help and when the deputy responding to the call got her house she answered her door nude and combative. A physical altercation of some sort ensued and the woman was TASERED! Okay, I'm not a police officer, BUT IF I WAS, I think I would have the good sense to know that if someone called 911 for help and then when help arrived answered the door naked and combative that, THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEM! Maybe just maybe they need some type of medical/psychiatric attention before they are charged with anything or taken to jail. But this woman was not given that which she obviously needed. Unless, that is the deputies there in Greene County are used to getting 911 calls from people who answer their doors NAKED when they arrive. Secondly, from my understanding of the news reporting on this situation, this woman was further humiliated by the headlines regarding her arrest in the paper the following day. That's really the icing on the cake, seeing your name in the paper with a headline saying, "Naked Woman Runs Amuk In Public", or something to that effect. I mean that shouldn't bother someone who is already mentally disturbed right? Thirdly, this woman who was arrested without any kind of psychiatric consult and then humiliated in the local newspaper, was bonded out of jail by family members who failed her as well. Why wasn't anyone in her family watching out for her? Where were her friends and family at when she was wandering around the county? Why did it take so long to report her missing? Fourthly, She was reported by so many witnesses as "not acting right." But aside from the woman who was too far away to do anything when this poor woman went under water, NO ONE did anything. Everyone called 911, but that's as far as they would get involved. Did anyone stay around to keep an eye on her until the police responded? No. By the time the police got to these "sightings" the woman was gone. When the witness who saw her on the bridge went to report it at the police station and a deputy DID find her, did he detain her or call an ambulance? No. He said she was "acting fine". Well, the week before she answered the door NAKED and got TASERED and taken to jail. THAT DEPUTY knew her history, but did he offer to take her home, did he insist she call someone? NO! Furthermore, for those fishermen who saw her floating 15 miles downstream, I don't know where you come from, but where I come from, people don't just float miles and miles down the river by themselves...doesn't anyone in Greene County have a cell phone? From the comments I've read regarding this whole incident everyone wants to play the blame game. As you can see there is enough blame to go around for everyone. The police, her family and friends, the many witnesses who did nothing, all share in the blame of what happened to this poor woman. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU. I happen to be mentally ill. I am Bi-Polar - Type 1 Manic/Deppressive. I have a Panic/Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I have Seasonal Affective Disorder and I suffer from Chronic Insomnia and various physical malodies. I have never answered my door naked, yet anyway, and I hope I never do. But there have been occassions when I have been very disoriented and confused in a public place or overwhelmed by a panic attack. It is very difficult for those of you who don't suffer from this to understand how difficult it is to deal with on a daily basis, I have lost alot of "friends" over the years. Especially at the worst times of my mentall illness. I have spent time in a psychiatric ward. But fortunately I have experienced the kindness of strangers and good samaritans during difficult times that restored my faith in mankind. What happened to Betty Carlton should not have happened to anyone in this day and age, it is an outrage! AGAIN, SHAME ON YOU PEOPLE, SHAME ON YOU!
My sincere thoughts and prayers go out to Betty and her family for her safe return.
i also had a family member who went to hamiltons center to no avail, but i finally got some help at cummins behavior health in terre haute, after about ten yrs messin with hamiltons in linton an terre haute both, they do nothing, if you have someone who needs help, try cummins, they can do wonders, also, this mess is really getting out of hand, its to late now to undo what greene tucky has done. why isnt it a law to call medical help in for these people instead of jail?? should be part of the 911 call, if police cant take care of these people, call in the medical team, they can take care of them, they are trained for this kind of situation. poor lady, i hope she is found alive.. oh, an by the way, family members cannot always find mentally ill family members who take off, but when police do, they should notify the family, dont ya think.
Blame the cops??? Why not blame the family members or at least lay equal blame on them. THEY obviously knew she was unstable and yet they let her wonder around???? It was their responsibility to take her in, especially after her incident of streaking in town. That should have been their first clue that she wasn't right. They also said that she was on medication. Hello.....THEY knew. Did they take her to Meadows or Hamilton? If they had, she wouldn't have been walking to the river in the first place.
whocares, did you miss the part where she had been taking medication to treat a mental disorder?
whocares:
No one here thinks that simply being on a bridge MEANS you have mental problems, but it was confirmed to be her AND known that she had problems, SO what should a police officer think? Trouble, obviously. Yes, just sitting on a ledge should have been enough, for HER!! In hindsight we can see that not enough was done to help. Maybe they just didn't want to touch her again...afraid of getting "assaulted", I don't know. And, what's that you say about getting a life???? what do you care? What makes you think we DONT know what we're talking about? You're using a false-cause argument that is as weak as it is transparent anyway. Kornegaypl has the nail hit on the head - GREENE COUNTY IS LOST!!
So you have mental problems if you are on a bridge. WOW so every person that fish or sat on a bridge has mental problems. GET A LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The police have a lot of things to do, and they perform several of these detentions montly. So if you dont know what you are talking about keep your mouth SHUT!!!!
I STRONGLY AGREE WITH TICKEDOFF. DOES BLOOMFIELD HAVE A NEW DONUT SHOP THAT ONLY THE POLICE KNOW ABOUT. SOMETHING MUST BE GOING ON TO KEEP THEM FROM DOING WHAT OUR TAX MONEY IS PAYING THEM TO DO!!! JUST SITTING ON THE LEDGE OF THE BRIDGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH TO BRING HER IN FOR AN EVAULATION. ARE THEY NOT CONCERNED BECAUSE OF HER ORDEAL WITH AN OFFICER? IT IS GETTING TO THE PLACE THAT I AM ALMOST ASHAMED TO TELL PEOPLE THAT I AM FROM GREENE CO BECAUSE OF ALL THE NONSENSE. WHAT IF THAT HAD OF BEEN ONE OF OUR LOVED ONES???? PEOPLE IN DESTRESS AND WITH MENTAL PROBLEMS CAN SEEM FINE ONE MINUTE THEN GO THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. SOUNDS TO ME LIKE GREENE CO LAW NEEDS TO TAKE MORE INTENSE CLASSES ON MENTAL ILLNESS.
This is Greene County...anytime you see someone floating down the river, especially when it's out of it's banks, it's usually not a good sign.
If she was floating, as the fisherman says, the movement they saw and thought was a sign of being ok could have been the water moving her limbs...
furthermore, if you see someone enter the water and disappear, call the police and get told to get lost in a round about way...what does that tell you?
Minerfan... I totally agree... none of this makes sense at all. Strange.
granny4... I agree with you, too. Counseling services are NOTHING like they used to be and it's a shame!
My question is this: Are they 100% certain that it was actually the missing woman that they saw 'floating' downstream? It could have been anyone. However, if it was her, she obviously needs some intervention, not time in jail.
Does anybody else think that something doesn't feel right about this? One woman says she seen her go under and not surface. Then a couple of fisherman see her "floating" down the river 15 miles downstream and she seemed fine? Who floats down a river by themselves?! Not to mention that I have a hard time believing that a 41 yrd old, mentally unstable woman could manage to keep afloat in a flood swollen river with strong currents for 100 yards, let alone 15 miles?
Did law inforcement taser the river for results.
one call from a family member to Hamilton center will not get help.I have dealt with the Hamilton center for several years.It takes a lot more than a phone call.I have a family member who is a client of the center.It is extremely hard to get help for the mentally ill especially when they are over the age of 18
It is a free country. The cops just cant arrest a person for nothing. One call from a family member to the hamilton center would have gotten her some help.