Two missing area women found dead after searches

Two women from the La Crosse area have been found dead, after separate searches in different counties.

Vernon County sheriff’s officers were called on Saturday morning to find Mary Heath of De Soto, who may have wandered away from her home on flooded Blackhawk Island.

A boater located Heath’s body about 300 yards downriver from her home, just a few minutes after the call to the sheriff’s office.

Heath was 74.

Her home was in an area of the island surrounded by high water from the Mississippi River and accessible only by boat.

Also on Saturday morning, Patricia Poole of St. Charles was found dead.

The 88-year-old Poole had not been seen since Monday, when she was spotted a few blocks from her apartment.