The Clarkdale Police Department and Spectrum Healthcare held a community meeting on Wednesday, June 28, in response to the drowning of a Cottonwood woman at the Tuzigoot River Access Point in Clarkdale.
Cottonwood resident Vicki Lynn Roberts, 54, drowned on Saturday, June 24, after tubing on the Verde River with her 5-year-old grandson. The child was wearing a life jacket and was unharmed.
Clarkdale police officers responded to the Verde River recreation area at 3:32 p.m. after multiple callers reported a drowning. Three civilians and a Clarkdale officer pulled the unresponsive woman from the water downstream of the Tuzigoot Bridge and performed lifesaving measures until emergency medical services arrived.
Medical personnel established a pulse and transported Roberts by ambulance to Verde Valley Medical Center, where she later died.
Witnesses estimated Roberts was underwater for between seven and 14 minutes. Officers are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the incident and cannot confirm or rule out any contributing factors until the autopsy is complete.
During the June 28 meeting in the Clarkdale Memorial Clubhouse Men’s Lounge in the Clarkdale Town Hall complex, Clarkdale police provided further details on the incident, noting that kayakers initially tried to grab Roberts before she slid underwater again.
One participant mentioned that the river is completely different after the recent flooding and no one was expecting it to now be 10 feet deep in some areas.
Monica Bowers, of Spectrum’s mobile crisis unit, spoke on strategies to help cope with stress, such as breathing exercises and talking. Anyone who was involved in the rescue, or witnessed the incident, or was experiencing trauma from this incident was invited to attend.
Verde Valley Fire District Fire Chief Danny Johnson praised the impressive first-aid response by the bystanders.
Other personnel that were dispatched to the incident said it was incredible to see strangers coming together to help Roberts and observed that there was a strong sense of community present. They all stressed how proud they were to live in Clarkdale, a place where people clearly come together to help each other in times of need.
Roberts was born in Cottonwood and is a Verde Valley native. Family and friends are raising funds to help cover funeral expenses, stating, “Vicky touched the lives of everyone she came in contact with and was loved by all who knew her. Her passions included volunteering at our local mission to take care of the homeless, spending time outdoors, rescuing animals and spending time with her family.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Roberts’ son, Thomas Warren, pay for funeral expenses and had $3,150 raised of a $4,000 goal as of July 10. The fundraiser can be found here: Fundraiser for Thomas Warren by Jeremiah Jones : Funeral expenses for Vicky Lynn Roberts (gofundme.com)
