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SPANISH FORK — The search for two girls missing on Utah Lake since Wednesday afternoon resumed Friday morning.
Search and rescue crews in boats were on the lake until 4 a.m. Friday before taking a short break and resuming their search at daylight, said Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon.
Priscilla Bienkowski, 18, and Sophia Hernandez, 17, both of Saratoga Springs, went to the Knolls area of Utah Lake near state Route 68 about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. They brought two tubes that Cannon described as “pool toys” more than rescue floatation devices.
The girls are feared to have been caught up in bad weather that produced high winds and big waves on the lake Wednesday evening. Both of the tubes were recovered, but there has been no sign of the girls.
Cannon said the lake was much calmer Friday morning than it had been the previous two days, which would allow crews to bring additional search tools onto the water. Search and rescue crews from the Weber and Wasatch County sheriff’s offices were assisting Utah County on Friday, as well as the Utah Department of Public Safety.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office asked that owners of private boats who had volunteered to help please stay away from the area because of the type of equipment being used Friday to locate the girls.
The girls were reported missing about 8 p.m. Wednesday when a man who was fishing on the shoreline heard one of their phones ringing and answered it, Cannon said. It was the mother of one of the girls looking for her daughter. When the fisherman told her that he had not seen the girls but all of their personal belongings were still on shore, the mother then called police. Officers found the girls’ car still parked nearby and their items on the beach.
The temperature of Utah Lake on Thursday morning was 57 degrees.
