Crews continue search for woman swept into Conewago Creek

Police and volunteers are searching for an Elizabethtown woman who was swept downstream while crossing Conewago Creek Monday night.

Around 9 p.m., 19-year-old Laura Olweiler and a 22-year-old relative were wading across the flooding creek in Conewago Township when the water carried them downstream, Pennsylvania State Police said.

The relative, who police declined to name, was able to get to shore, but Olweiler disappeared downstream.

Rescue crews are treating the search as a rescue mission, state police spokeswoman Trooper Megan Frazer said Tuesday afternoon. In addition to state and local police, searchers include the national guard, a hazmat team, a helicoptor pilot and a drone operator.

Friends and family spent Tuesday morning scouring the creek for signs of Olweiler. However, police have urged people to stay away from the creek, which remains flooded. Police have blocked off access to the scene of the incident, near Koser Road.

“The family respectfully requests that any other friends or family who would like to come to the scene to refrain from doing so to not interfere with official search efforts,” Frazer said. “Please continue to keep Laura and her family in your thoughts and prayers as the search continues.”