ROGUE RIVER, OR : Gold Hill woman, 65, crashes SUV into Rogue River on Saturday, January, 27th 2018

A report of vandalism to a mailbox led to the discovery of an SUV in the river with the apparent driver dead inside.

Oregon State Police identified the victim as Melinda A. Fluck, 65, of Gold Hill.

Capt. Bill Fugate, a state police spokesman, wrote in a news release Sunday that a trooper went to investigate the vandalism report in the 4400 block of Rogue River Highway late Friday afternoon and noticed fresh tire tracks leading into the Rogue River. The location is just south of the city of Rogue River.

Because of the gathering darkness, a trooper stayed at the scene overnight. A marine patrol boat from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was put into the water early Saturday.

About 9 a.m., a quarter-­mile downstream from the tire tracks, the marine patrol found a submerged 1998 Subaru Legacy with Fluck’s body inside, Fugate said.

Fugate said it appeared that Fluck had been driving south on the Rogue River Highway when her SUV drifted onto the eastbound shoulder. She apparently overcorrected, crossed both lanes, and the SUV went over the embankment and into the river.

Source :
Gold Hill woman, 65, crashes SUV into Rogue River