BODY OF RACHEL MERCHANT-LY RECOVERED
Douglas Co. Sheriff's Office IDLEYLD PARK, Ore. - The body of Rachel Merchant-Ly has been recovered from the North Umpqua River today. On April 19, 2024, Douglas County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue organized a large scale search in their ongoing efforts to locate 27 year old Rachel Merchant-Ly of Idleyld Park. Merchant-Ly was reported missing on Thursday, February 29, 2024, when she didn't arrive at Glide Elementary School where she worked as a kindergarten teacher. Later that morning, a Douglas County Sheriff's deputy located signs of a motor vehicle crash near milepost 41 on Highway 138E. On Friday, March 1, 2024, Merchant-Ly's vehicle was recovered from the North Umpqua River, but she was not found inside. Since that time, searchers have conducted numerous searches by water, land, and air without success. On April 19, 2024, searchers from Douglas County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue, Jackson County Search and Rescue and Lane County Search and Re