Little Girl's Body Recovered -- 23-Month-Old Found After 4 Days Of River Search

MONROE - Sue Alberts waited all week at the Skykomish River's edge for the terrible news that came yesterday as her daughter's small body was brought up from the water by police divers.

"It's what we wanted all week long. But when you finally get it, it's not what you want," Alberts said. "It's worse because you know it's over."

A King County Sheriff's Department diver found the toddler's body behind a rock, 14 feet beneath the surface of the swift-moving water in an area divers had been searching for days. It was 300 yards downstream from 23-month-old Kailee Alberts' uncle's house, from which she had wandered away Saturday at dinner time during a family reunion.

The diver signaled he'd located Kailee's body at 4:10 p.m., and after family members keeping vigil on the banks were escorted away, a team dived in and brought up the body.

Kailee would have turned 2 tomorrow. Her body was found after four days of searching with boats, helicopters, cameras and scores of divers from Snohomish County, the Monroe Fire Department and, beginning yesterday, King County.

"She was such a small girl, and it was such a big river," said Maj. Tony Lukin of the Snohomish County sheriff's office.

Friends and relatives gathered in small groups yesterday evening in Andy and Gloria Werkhoven's driveway, just a few hundred yards from the river. Their eyes were red, they clung to each other, and they caressed their own children with tenderness.

"Oh, sunflowers," Sue Alberts said, lightly touching the shoulder of a 1-year-old girl wearing a sunflower shirt and resting in her mother's arms. "That was my daughter's favorite. She always wore sunflowers. She was wearing sunflowers when she went down into the river."

Alberts, 29, said she felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her when she was told Kailee's body had been found. What she most wanted, she said, was to see her again. "I thought I was going to see her an hour ago," she said to Lukin.

"This has been an extremely emotional and difficult ordeal for all concerned," said Jan Jorgensen of the sheriff's office. "The fact that she was recovered is a relief to everybody."

Kailee's body will be released to the family after the Snohomish County medical examiner determines the cause of death. Lukin said that wasn't expected to take long.

Sue and Erick Alberts had traveled with their daughter, Kailee, from Surrey, B.C., to attend a reunion with Sue's brother, Andy Werkhoven, and other family members.

The group was having dinner Saturday when someone noticed Kailee was gone. Her wagon and her footprints were found at the water's edge. "She loved the water," said Lukin, who headed up the search.

Although some wondered at the cost of the continued search in the swift, rocky river, Lukin said there was never a question of stopping before finding Kailee's body. "If I was a parent, I think I'd want to know," he said. "And, hell, I don't like mysteries."

Sue Alberts wrote a statement thanking the search-and-rescue team and Monroe residents, who drew near with food, labor and their presence.

She said Tuesday that her daughter would be buried in a Monroe cemetery next to Jerry Werkhoven, Alberts' brother, who died at age 4 before she ever knew him.

A memorial service for Kailee is planned for Saturday.