Body of missing woman found after days of searching

WINDOW ROCK

The search for 36-year-old Sharon Cachini ended Friday when searchers found her body, five days after she was swept away in a flood in the Red Rock Chapter area about five miles south of Gallup.

Cachini disappeared Sunday night after leaving to pick up her husband from work. Her brother, Herman Michael Hoskie, said the family leaned on one another and the community during the long days of uncertainty.

“My mom, she’s been taking it pretty hard because, you know, my sister was always with her,” he said. “We’re here for her. We’re trying to comfort her. Her family members are here, her sisters are here, you know, taking care of her, supporting her, keeping her company. We don’t want to leave her alone.”

He described his sister as resilient and devoted to her family.

“My sister, she’s a really strong woman,” he said. “She pretty much raised her son without the father. She was always there for my mom. She always had a smile on her face. She always made everybody laugh.”

Her mother, Sadie Hoskie, recounted Cachini’s last known moments on Sunday.

“She left around 8:30 last night saying that she was going to go pick up her husband. He works on the north side, at KFC,” she said on Monday.

Sadie said her daughter asked her husband to come home early because of worsening storms.

“She told me she asked him to get off early because it looked like there was a lot of rain coming from Bread Springs,” she said.

Around 10:30 p.m., Sadie said her daughter’s husband returned home and called 911, reportedly to tell police his wife had been swept away by floodwater.

Family members, neighbors and volunteers searched through the night until mud and cold forced them to stop.

“There’s a whole bunch of people that were looking for her all night. They just stopped because it was too muddy and it was too cold,” Sadie said.

By Monday, the Navajo Nation Police, New Mexico State Police, Gallup Police Department and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office joined the search. Authorities later found the vehicle she had been swept away in, along with her sweater and her cellphones.

As the search pressed on, the tragedy renewed long-standing frustrations over dangerous crossings in the area.

Herman Hoskie said his family has heard for decades that a bridge would be built but nothing ever came of it.

“I grew up in that area. I lived there my whole life, I’ve always heard that they’ve always said they’re gonna build a bridge, they’re gonna gravel our road. But ever since I moved out, it’s never gotten done. My mom, to this day, she still lives out there,” he said on Wednesday.

According to search and rescue personnel, Cachini was found between Manuelito and Lupton, Arizona, several miles from where she was swept away.

McKinley County Sheriff James Maiorano III, on Wednesday, urged the public to stay away from flooded areas.

“Stay away from swift water areas during stormy days. Do not attempt to pass over roadways or driveways when running water is on top. Do not trust that your vehicle is heavy enough to keep you safe from washing away during flash flooding,” he said.

Get instant access to this story by purchasing one of our many e-edition subscriptions HERE at our Navajo Times Store.

---