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Witnesses see woman jump into Miami River, recovery underway

Search for missing woman in Miami River
Search for missing woman in Miami River 01:46

MIAMI — A search is underway after a woman was reportedly witnessed jumping into the Miami River early Sunday morning and hasn't been seen since.

Around 2:24 a.m., a 30-year-old woman was seen jumping into the Miami River, City of Miami Fire Rescue told CBS News Miami. The search began with crews from Miami-Dade County Fire and the U.S. Coast Guard assisting Miami Fire for over three hours; however, no one was found.

"[The] current has been very strong since [Saturday] night which has made the search extremely difficult," said Miami Fire Lt. Pete Sanchez in a statement.

Crews shined light into the water but the currents were too rough to send divers in to find her. 

"Very bad. windy very windy at that time. Like right now, it's not as much as last night," said witness Icela Vazquez. 

Later in the morning, the Coast Guard and Miami Fire continued their search, which has now become a recovery mission.

Vazquez saw the sirens from her floor window around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. She took a video of the search and she was horrified at what happened. 

"No, I cannot imagine," Vazquez said. "I can't. I can't imagine because we saw something like this two years ago."

Neighbors told CBS News Miami the current can get rough here just before the river empties into the Biscayne Bay. 

"It gets real choppy," said neighbor Ted Delcima. "It gets real bad if you get some shots right now you can see it gets real choppy it's bad." 

"Especially right now with this wind — and this weather — it's so bad," Vazquez added.

The Coast Guard is leading the investigation as the recovery continues. The circumstances surrounding the incident are unknown at this time.

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