AUGUSTA — Conditions on the Kennebec River in downtown Augusta have forced authorities to suspend a search for a woman who disappeared under the river ice early Saturday afternoon.

“The Maine Warden Service and Marine Patrol will work to recover the individual from the Kennebec River once the treacherous conditions on the river subside,” Augusta Police Department Deputy Chief Jared Mills said in a press release issued today.

Wardens on an airboat search the Kennebec River for a woman who disappeared under the ice between the Calumet Bridge at Old Fort Western and the railroad trestle on Saturday in Augusta.

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However, they continue to try to determine the identity of the woman, and are asking the public’s help.

Maine Marine Patrol Sgt. Daniel White described her as being in her 50s, with reddish-brown hair and wearing dark clothing.

Mills asked that people call Officer Paul Doody at 626-2370 if they have information about the identity of the woman or the incident.

Gloria Labbe and Judy Bourget, two women who saw her go into the river from the windows of nearby Kennebec Plaza, said the woman had been speaking on a cellphone and placed it on the ice before deliberately moving to a small area of open water. They said she pushed away a buoy that police had thrown to her.

Police had arrived at the scene when the woman was still on the ice after getting several calls from passers-by.

Along with a plane from Maine Marine Patrol, Maine Game Wardens with the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife used an airboat briefly in the search.

“Due to the river being completely frozen south of the Calumet Bridge, the conditions made it impossible locate the person,” according to Mills’ release.

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