Recovery efforts continue for the 6-year-old girl who fell into Chester Creek

Crews were expected to resume their search Tuesday for 6-year-old Li’najah Brooker in Chester Creek after using a sonar device to scan underwater on Monday but finding nothing, officials said.

The Chester City Fire Department began the search around 7 p.m. Saturday after the girl reportedly fell into the rain-swollen waters of the creek near East Seventh Street and the Avenue of the States in downtown Chester, authorities said.

Chester officials announced Sunday afternoon the search had transitioned from rescue to recovery. Fire crews, however, suspected that they would be searching for Li’najah’s body as early as Saturday, after failing to locate the girl several hours after her disappearance. Heavy rains swelled the creek’s banks Saturday, clouding them with mud.

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Multiple law enforcement and fire agencies, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, participated in an extensive search by boat, helicopter, and mini submarine — a new tool that Chester crews were trained to use last month. Their search extended from the Commodore Barry Bridge up to the Chester Creek, and included the Delaware River.

It was unclear how Li’najah ended up playing by the creek along with other children, but officials speculated that the group could have breached a small gap in a fence or passed through the driveway of a nearby home to reach the water’s edge. The city plans to address those issues, Mayor Stefan Roots said Sunday.