Burroughs student presumed drowned

Tim Willert

A John Burroughs High School volleyball player was missing and

presumed drowned late Friday following a white-water rafting mishap

near Leavenworth, Wash.

Alisa Belcourt, 15, fell from an inflatable raft and disappeared

into the Wenatchee River on Wednesday afternoon, according to

Leavenworth-area news reports.

The Wenatchee World reported in Friday’s edition that Alisa was

one of seven people -- mostly family members -- who went rafting

Wednesday afternoon. Two of the rafts flipped in a rough part of the

river in Tumwater Canyon, about 1 1/2 miles west of Leavenworth,

spilling five people into the rapids, the newspaper reported.

Four of the five were rescued, including a 10-year-old girl thought to be the missing girl’s sister, Chelan County Sheriff’s

Deputy Mark Mann said by telephone late Friday.

“It’s a recovery effort now,” Mann said of the search for the

remaining girl. “She is presumed drowned.”

One lifejacket was aboard the rafts, according to news reports.

Mann said the rafters started their trip in a calm pool of water and

drifted to the rapids.

“They did not predict the water behavior at all,” Mann said.

Initial news reports identified the missing girl as Alisa Belcourt

of Redmond, a Seattle suburb. But friends of the girl and those with

ties to the Burroughs High volleyball program said Alisa’s father

lived in Washington and that she was visiting him.

Former Burroughs High freshman volleyball coach Karen Sartoris,

who coached Alisa two years ago, said she learned of Alisa’s

disappearance Thursday from the girl’s best friend.

“She was one of my favorite girls,” Sartoris said. “She was an

extremely sweet girl.”

The Wenatchee World reported Friday that members of Belcourt’s

family stopped by the recovery site throughout the day on Thursday

and Friday and watched a swift water rescue crew scour the river.

Mann was unable to confirm whether the missing girl resided in

Burbank, but said several members of the missing girl’s family who

were in Leavenworth on Friday were from Southern California.

Leavenworth is a small town about 100 miles east of Seattle.

“We’ve got some people from Los Angeles who are here,” he said.

Neither family members nor Burroughs administrators could be

reached for comment Friday. Others with ties to the school were not

aware that Belcourt was missing.

Former Burroughs High volleyball coach Linda Murphy expressed

shock when told of Belcourt’s presumed drowning.

“She was a real good team player ... very well liked by her

teammates,” Murphy said. “I’m not sure I ever saw her without a smile

on her face.”

Reporters Ben Godar and Molly Shore contributed to this article.