QUINCY, Wash. – The body of 24-year-old woman was found in a rural irrigation canal in Quincy on Tuesday.
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office reported that Erika Martinez Chavez was found inside her vehicle, which had submerged at the bottom of the canal near Road 7-Northwest and Road R-Northwest.
Investigators believe she lost control of her car while driving north on the canal’s maintenance road.
A helicopter pilot spotted the submerged vehicle on Monday while flying over a nearby orchard and alerted authorities.
Crews returned on Tuesday to recover the vehicle and Martinez’s body.
Coroner Craig Morrison’s office will conduct an autopsy, and Martinez’s family has been notified of her death.
Martinez last had contact with her family on Sunday night. The canal at the scene is 75 feet wide, with water flowing about 20 feet deep.
