Woman missing in Beaver Creek feared dead

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. ” The search for a 56-year-old Nebraska woman who fell into Beaver Creek while horseback riding has turned into a recovery mission, authorities said Sunday.

Mary Brake of Lincoln fell into the swift-moving creek Friday evening after her horse lost its footing and was washed downstream.

The horse was later found with minor injuries, but there was no sign that Brake made it out of the water, Eagle County sheriff’s spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly said. After more than 24 hours in the water, rescuers assume she is no longer alive.

Brake’s family says Brake, her husband and 9-year-old daughter had been riding to an upscale mountain restaurant that’s only accessible by horseback, horse-drawn wagons or wagons pulled by tractors.

Like most streams in Colorado now, the Beaver Creek is swollen with water because of runoff from melting snow.

Cordingly said the high, fast-moving water has kept searchers from checking parts of the creek for Brake.

Brake also had two sons and was the oldest of eight children, her family said.