Searchers find body of girl, 14, in Mississippi River

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Law enforcement crews have found the body of a 14-year-old girl who fell into the Mississippi River late last month, but her 8-year-old sister is still missing.

Alton Brown told WWL-TV that a body found Thursday is that of his daughter Brandy Wilson.

He asked volunteers and law enforcement crews to keep searching for Ally Berry-Wilson: “Please come with good spirit and good intention, and help me bring my last baby home.”

Family members have told news outlets they believe Brandy Wilson slipped into the river on April 23 and that 15-year-old Kevin Poole Jr. and her sister tried to save her.

They had taken the girls’ 5-year-old brother to play at Algiers Point on New Orleans’ west bank, across the river from most of the city. He ran home to alert people after the three older children fell in, according to news reports.

Poole’s body was found Monday at a park a bit downriver on the east bank, news agencies reported. Brandy Wilson’s body was about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) farther downriver on the east bank, near the Domino Sugar refinery in Chalmette, according to news agencies.

The Coast Guard searched for two days by air and water; local law enforcement agencies and volunteers have continued the search.

A search on Saturday for the little girl is expected to bring in hundreds of people from multiple states, WWL-TV reported.

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