THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9507020053
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
A four-day search ended early Saturday afternoon when search dogs found the body of 64-year-old Doris Frisbie, a Portsmouth native, beneath some rocks in the Robinson River, state police said.
Just an hour earlier, the body of 3-year-old Alexa Orentes was spotted in a tree around 11:25 a.m. by a search crew flying over the Shenandoah River, said Janet Clements, a state Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman.
The two marked the seventh and eighth bodies pulled from Virginia's rain-swollen rivers as weary residents struggled with the task of cleaning up after nine days of nearly continuous rain.
It was about 12:30 p.m. when search dogs uncovered Frisbie's body near the town Criglersville. She was last seen Tuesday by her husband when their home was pushed into the Robinson River by a mud slide.
Caldwell said Frisbie was found under flood debris about 200 yards downstream from the site where the home once stood.
The body of a small black dog belonging to the Frisbies was found along with Frisbie's body, said Norman F. Goodwin, a cousin of the Frisbies who lives in Norfolk.
``She loved that little dog,'' Goodwin said.
The family planned to cremate Frisbie's body and the dog's, Goodwin said. Their ashes will be sprinkled on the mountain that collapsed on the Frisbies' home.
``It put our family through an awful lot, not knowing where she was. We were afraid she was washed downstream. Now we can rest in peace, and so can she.''
Last week, the Frisbies' four children traveled from Hampton Roads to Criglersville to join the four-day search for their mother.
Warren County Sheriff Lynn Armentrout said Orentes body was retrieved by rescuers on jet skis about 10 miles downstream from a campground where the child was washed away during a flash flood Tuesday.
William Barton, a police chaplain who was with the child's family, said Orentes' family was relieved.
As thunderstorms and showers began popping up around the state Saturday, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for most of western Virginia, including many of the flooded areas.
Officials in Madison County, where damage from the flooding appeared the worst, appealed Saturday for heavy equipment and operators to help them dig out from the flood's mud and debris.
``Our problems in this area are just beginning,'' said David Jones, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors. ``We have just scratched the surface. There are houses missing, roads missing.''
The Emergency Services Department said 80 of the county's bridges have been destroyed and another 200 damaged. The department estimated damages at $100 million statewide since the flooding began June 22. Madison County officials estimated damage in their county at $64 million.
``We need bulldozers, backhoes, front-end loaders. And we need people to operate them,'' said Mary Beahm of the Madison County Rescue Squad.
What the county and other areas hit hard by the floods don't need are sightseers.
``We're worried about the curious who will be coming out over the holiday weekend,'' state police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said. ``We've already received reports that some of the secondary roads are being clogged with sightseers.''
National Guard helicopters continued to ferry supplies to people in remote sections of Madison County who were cut off by high water and washed out roads and bridges.
Effects of the flooding were evident from Warren County in the north to Pittsylvania County on the North Carolina border.
The Dan River crested Friday night in South Boston, causing only minor flooding. The James River crested Saturday in Richmond, closing some low-lying roads.
Despite the threat of more rain, residents went about the business of cleaning up.
In the Greene County hamlet of Stanardsville, workers from a Staunton construction company have been clearing debris from the roads and filling washed out sections since Wednesday.
More than 368 county homes were damaged, according to the Emergency Services Department.
Contractors and operators who wish to volunteer time or heavy equipment for the cleanup efforts in Madison County are asked to contact the Madison County Rescue Squad at (703) 948-5353. MEMO: Staff writer Alex Marshall contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: PAUL AIKEN/Staff color photos
[The following photos appeared on page B1]
Sgt. Gary Harvey, center, a Madison County Sheriff and family
friend, tells Rebecca Tucker that the body of her mother, Doris
Frisbie, has been found. Tucker's husband Michael is at right.
Culpeper Sheriff's Deputy Robert Roberts walks past the remains of
the home of Doris Frisbie, which was washed down the mountain
outside Criglersville.
Rebecca Tucker searches through the debris for identifiable items
from where her parent's home once stood. Frisbie and her black dog
were found under flood debris.
KEYWORDS: FLOODING FATALITIES by CNB