Two woman electrocuted in Lake Tuscaloosa
NORTHPORT, Ala. — UPDATE (April 19) :
Tuscaloosa Police have now identified the cause of death for Shelly Darling, 34, and Elizabeth Whipple, 41 as electrocution. Their deaths are believed to be accidental.
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Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide units were called out to the 15000 block of West Winds Drive in Northport around 12:30 a.m last night to assist in a possible drowning.
Captain Kip Hart said two women were found deceased in the lake some time between 12:30 a.m and 4:30 a.m.
He said it is unclear how the women died, but investigators are leaning towards accidental deaths.
Captain Hart said the victims are a 34 year old woman, and a 41 year old woman. Police are not releasing their names at this time.
According to Hart, the family of the 34 year old woman contacted the Tuscaloosa Police Department after the woman never returned home for dinner.
The woman's husband told police that he had last seen her at 8 a.m Friday morning when he left the house to go play golf.
The husband said his wife and the 41 year old woman went to the family lake house for the day to sunbathe.
When his wife failed to show up to dinner, family members went up to the lake house to check on them.
Family members found some of the women's belongings on the docks, but the two women were missing.
The family contacted Tuscaloosa Police, and dive teams were called in to assist searching the lake.
Captain Hart says dive teams eventually located the bodies of the missing women in the lake.
Autopsies on the two women are expected to be performed Monday, with preliminary results to be released sometime Monday evening according to Captain Hart.
