A 7-year-old girl drowned Saturday night in the Pecatonica River in Lafayette County.
According to Sheriff Reg Gill, the girl and two other young children went into the river near the County M boat landing just west of Woodford. The river’s current swept the girl under the water and the other children could not reach her in time. Search and rescue crews were called in just before 9 p.m. Gill says “many, many private citizens” helped police, firefighters, deputies, and DNR teams search the river and surrounding area. The Southwest Wisconsin Regional Technical Rescue Team eventually found the girl’s body at 2 a.m. Sunday. Heavy rain fell Friday night and Saturday morning in parts of southwest Wisconsin, but totals in nearby Monroe indicate that area received about .45 inches. The rain does not appear to have impacted the river’s depth significantly.