ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — Rocky River's police chief said a woman found dead after her car was discovered in the river Sunday afternoon likely had been in the water for several hours.
The deceased has been identified as 50-year-old Katrina Smith from Portage County, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office.
Police said at about 3:30 p.m., they responded to the Cleveland Yachting Club at 700 Yacht Club Dr. after a worker at the club reported a car in the river with a person in the water.
Rocky River PD said responding officers confirmed that an SUV was partially submerged in the east channel of the Rocky River off the south end of the island. Police said a person was also in the water just outside the car, who was unresponsive and showed no signs of life.
The Rocky River Fire Department responded to the scene and determined that Smith had died.
"We believe she went off the island and into the water probably within about 10 minutes of arriving," said Rocky River Police Chief George Lichman.
The chief said a license plate reader showed Smith's car driving on Detroit Road around 9:23 Sunday morning.
Lichman said a few minutes later, a security guard let Smith into the yacht club's gated parking lot.
"The security guard said that our victim told her she was meeting someone there," said Lichman. "There was an event that late morning or early afternoon, so it was not unusual for people to be arriving for that, so the guard let her onto the lot."
The chief said what happened next is a mystery.
Smith's was found off the opposite end of the island from the entrance.
"We think it was hours, several hours, four to five hours, before anyone found the car in the water," said Lichman.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, police said.
Lichman said detectives are hopeful data from the car's computer, Smith's phone, or interviews with friends and family will help detectives figure out what happened to Smith and how the mother died.
"The detectives are looking into every avenue here," Lichman said. "Whether it was intentional or an accident, they don't have enough information to draw a conclusion right now."
