GENESEO- A three month search for Cora Kalous, 37, ended Saturday when her body was found and later identified. Search crews found the body sumberged in the Genesee river near Riverside Drive by Rte. 63.
Specialized dive crews, search boats, and canine cadaver recovery units were already called in from as far away as North Carolina to assist in the search, which could not be properly made until this weekend because the water table was too high from the spring melt.
“We had a severe winter, and the extra runoff keeps the water table high,” said Geneseo Police Chief Eric Osganian, “and the Mt. Morris dam couldn’t be altered because that would cause runoff problems in Mt. Morris.”
The search also had to wait for personnel, equipment and vehicles to arrive from out of state. Search crews used flat-bottomed boats that could move equipment and divers through the Genesee River’s winding channels, and allow dogs to stand up and work.
Kalous was reported as missing in March after she was seen wandering into the woods near her apartment on Meadow Drive. Police said at the time that Kalous suffered from mental illness and was reportedly intoxicated when she left home.
Geneseo police acknowledged that Saturday’s search concludes a long and painful ordeal for Kalous’ living relatives. “It’s closure for the family,” said Chief Osganian.