Second Body Recovered from Landslide at Green Brothers Gravel Pit, Mississippi
Emmitt Shorter & Dee Hemphill
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Officials say the body of the second worker has been removed from a gravel pit in Copiah County.
Recovery operations in Copiah County have ended now that the bodies of two men have been recovered.
Dee Hemphill and Emmitt Shorter were in a gravel pit when a dam breached over a week ago and buried them under sludge.
Lee Smithson, the Executive Director for MEMA said at a briefing Saturday that the accident has been a learning and growing experience.
“This truly shows in Mississippi it’s a whole of community approach to disaster operations. While this was a great tragedy the positive thing to come out of it is this community is better and stronger than it ever has been,” said Smithson.
Hemphill’s body was found inside a piece of equipment early in the morning on Thursday, June 9, 2016.
The second body was found the next night, on Friday, June 10, 2016, but couldn’t be removed from the sludge until nearly 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
Family members were not available to talk on camera but said they know the second body is that of Emmitt Shorter.
MEMA is now packing up equipment and supplies as the recovery process has ended.
WJTV was told cadaver dogs assisted in that process.
Norman Ford with Green Brothers Gravel Co. Inc. spoke during the press conference and became emotional as he read a statement.
“We’ve been blessed to see this community come together and share love and concern and food, water and prayers over the past wait. We at green brothers are grateful that through God’s guidance we were able to assemble a team of professionals so that we were able to safely achieve The only mission that mattered: The safe recovery of our guys and families loved ones,” said Ford.
Smithson credits Task Force Two with a successful recovery.
“And their dedication, commitment and reverence in this makes them probably the best search and rescue team in the entire country,” said Smithson.
He also thanked churches, fire departments and all of Crystal Springs and Copiah County for their help.
We’re told an investigation into the incident and what caused the dam to breech will begin immediately.
It could take up to two months to complete.
Source: (June 11, 2016) WATE.com
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