Girl's body discovered near scene of Okla. bridge collapse

WEBBERS FALLS, Okla. -- The death toll from the highway bridge collapse climbed to 14 on Wednesday when the body of a 3-year-old girl was found floating in the Arkansas River a half-mile downstream.

After the girl's body was recovered, authorities called off the search, saying they believed they had found all the victims and vehicles in the water.

"They have exhausted every hot spot," said Lt. Brandon Kopepasah of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

The Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard planned to leave the area, but divers would be called back if more vehicles or bodies were found under the concrete and debris during the salvage operation. The bodies of Shea Nicole Johnson's parents had been found Monday. The family had been traveling to Tulsa on Sunday when their car plummeted into the water through a 500-foot gap created in an Interstate 40 bridge by a barge that slammed into the span.

Divers and crews using sonar and a large crane pulled 10 vehicles from the water. As each body was removed, the recovery crews stood in somber vigil and pray. Wednesday was the first hot, dry day since the accident. Divers were kept out of the water for hours Monday and Tuesday because of rain and lightning.

National Guardsmen combed the tree-lined banks of the river for clothing, books and other items that escaped from vehicles after they plunged 62 feet into the 11-foot-deep water.

The captain of the towboat that was pushing the barge has told investigators he blacked out before the crash.

Meanwhile, some members of the news media complained they have been threatened and hassled by authorities while covering the bridge collapse story.

Also Wednesday, a reporter for The Daily Oklahoman was detained while walking in a public park away from a portion of City Hall set aside for families of the victims.

A volunteer with the Tulsa medical examiner's office had asked the reporter, Sheila Stogsdill, to leave the park area. When she refused, the volunteer told police to arrest her. They later released Stogsdill and apologized.

"Our reporters and photographers are just trying to do their jobs," said Sue A. Hale, executive editor of The Oklahoman.

Two Associated Press reporters said they were threatened with arrest on at least four occasions involving Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and Muskogee County sheriff's deputies.

Patrol Lt. Chris West said he doubted troopers actually threatened reporters. Cecilia Collins of the Muskogee County Sheriff's Department said no action could be taken without a name and badge number.

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