UTAH COUNTY, Utah, May 7, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah State Parks boats will continue searching Utah Lake throughout the night for any signs of two Utah County teens who went missing after going tubing on the lake Wednesday afternoon.
A tweet from Utah County Sheriff’s Office just before 8 p.m. Thursday said: “Search and Rescue will return tomorrow morning to continue the search for the teens.”
The missing teens have been identified as Priscilla Bienkowski, 18, of Saratoga Springs, and Sophia Hernandez, 17, of Eagle Mountain.
The two were on the northwest side of the lake when it is believed they were caught up in high winds and heavy waves that blew through the area late Wednesday afternoon.
Officers who were near the lake at the time described the conditions as “fierce.”
Utah County Sheriff’s Deputy Tyler Hutchins told Gephardt Daily search and rescue operations began about 8 p.m. Wednesday after family members reported the teens missing to Saratoga Springs police.
Rescue teams in boats and in the air searched for the girls throughout much of the night.
A floating device thought to belong to one of the teens was found in the lake, but there were no other signs of the missing girls.
Operations were suspended about 2 a.m. Thursday and began again at first light.
Gephardt Daily will update the story as more information becomes available.
