Heather Sciscoe isn't sure now if it was 41-year-old Betty Carlton, but at the time she said there was no reason to be alarmed or to contact law authorities.

At the time she didn't even know anyone was missing in or around the river.

And, it is not terribly unusual to see anyone swimming or floating in the White River on a warm summer day, she said.

Heather and her husband, James and several other friends and relatives had gathered for an evening of catfishing at a river cabin, located about 10 miles downstream from Bloomfield.

The group included three adult couples and three children.

Between 6 and 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, Heather Sciscoe said she noticed a person wearing either a black or orange lifejacket came floating by their fishing spot, which was located off of County Road 600W.

The river was high -- above flood stage -- that day, rising about two feet in the four hours the Sciscoe's were fishing. She's not sure how deep the water was in that location, but she did say the current was moving very swiftly.

"We didn't know if it a was guy or a girl. We never said it was her. And this person did have a lifejacket on," Heather told the Greene County Daily World in an interview on Tuesday. "I thought it (the lifejacket) was orange. My husband thinks it was black."

Heather continued, "My husband hollered twice 'Are you alright?' and they just looked at us and kept going."

No words were spoken by the person floating. The only thing visible above the water was the person's head.

"They weren't like floating with their body up (on top of the water). Their head was sticking up out of the water and they were floating down the river. It (the water) was moving pretty quick," she remembered.

Heather said she knows the person was alive at the time because they looked right at them.

"They acknowledged that we were there fishing and they were looking around," she recalled.

Sciscoe said seeing a person floating by concerned her, but she was quickly told by her husband that it was not unusual.

"It scared me because I wasn't around the river, so it scared me ... my husband asked 'Are you OK?' and they looked at us and looked back like they didn't care that we were there. Then they floated down a little bit and he hollered again 'Are you OK, do you need help?'. They just looked at us again. My first reaction was to call somebody for help. My husband grew up on the river and he said they did it all of the time. It's just something to do when you live at the river," Heather stated.

The next day she heard on the news that a woman was missing and it all clicked.

"I was like 'Oh my God'. I don't know that was her, but I wanted them (authorities) to know possibly if it was where I seen it," she said.

Sciscoe went to the Linton Police Department and told an officer what she had witnessed on the previous day. The LPD contacted Indiana Conservation Officer Greg Swanson, who later called her on the telephone.

"We reported that they had a lifejacket on and we didn't even know if it was her. We couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl."

Indiana Conservation Officer's public information spokesman Max Winchell collaborated Sciscoe's version of what was observed.

"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.

Winchell said there is nothing new with the search for Carlton.

The Conservation officer pointed out that the river was searched extensively for four days after the woman was reported missing by a family member with no signs of her either in the water or on the bank.

Winchell said at this point this unusual case can not be called a drowning case.

"If there was a drowning it is unwitnessed. She was last seen in the river, but she was also seen alive and well. Whether she made it out or whether she drowned, at this point we don't know," Winchell told the Greene County Daily World on Tuesday afternoon.

The case has many unanswered questions and turns dating back to July 7 when officers answered a E-911 telephone call to her 208 South Seminary Street home.

Carlton answered the door nude and led police on a chase before she was taken into custody.

Bloomfield Town Marshal Kenny Tharp explained, "A (9-1-1) call came in from a lady who was requesting help. When Officer Shane Smith arrived he was met at the door by a nude, combative female. A physical altercation then incurred ... and she was taken into custody and incarcerated."

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in Greene County Circuit Court, at one point during the incident Carlton grabbed Officer Smith, attempted to flee and was eventually tasered in order to be subdued. Smith was assisted by Greene County Sheriff Deputy Chris McDonald and Worthington Officer Don Richardson.

Carlton was initially held at the Greene County Jail, but released after posting $1,500 bond the next day.

She was scheduled to appear in Greene Circuit Court last Friday morning 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.

On Monday, an arrest warrant was issued because she missed the court date.

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.

Greene County Daily World Staff Writer Anna Rochelle contributed to this report.