Missing woman survives nearly a week after Northwest Indiana crash

NEWTON COUNTY, Ind. (WGN) — A missing woman miraculously survived nearly a week in a rural area in Northwest Indiana following a crash.

Brieonna Cassell, 41, of Wheatfield, was reported missing last Thursday, according to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO).

According to a missing persons post by family, she left her mother’s home to visit friends in the Wheatfield and Demotte area. No one had seen her or her Ford Taurus since.

An employee for Deyoung Drainage, Johnny Martinez, noticed her vehicle off the roadway Tuesday on CR 600S near CR 300E. According to the NCSO, more than 400 vehicles a day drove by Cassell’s crashed Taurus before Martinez found her.

Once he made the discovery, Martinez contacted his supervisor, who happens to be the fire chief for Morocco, Jeremy Vanderwall.

Martinez and Vanderwall checked her Taurus and found Cassell to be the sole occupant. She was conscious and speaking.

Cassell was pinned inside her vehicle and survived six days waiting to be rescued before she was airlifted to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Chicago.

At a press conference Tuesday evening, Cassell’s mother, Kim Brown, said she survived by flinging her sweatshirt “like a fishing pole” into creek water near her crashed Taurus and wringing the water into her mouth to drink.

According to her parents, another problem that kept Cassell trapped in her vehicle was that her cell phone became lodged under her seat and was out of reach after she regained consciousness.

“Bri had actually said to her daughter this morning, she was giving up hope, but she managed to stay alive,” said Dale Brown, Cassell’s father. “It’s going to be a long road to recovery. But thank you to everyone for spreading the word and volunteering.”

Kim Brown said Cassell has compound fractures in her legs, but she has not received an update on any other injuries her daughter may have suffered.

She’s still elated for the first opportunity to see her daughter after six emotionally draining days though.

“I’m going to hug her and kiss her and kick her butt,” Kim Brown said with a smile.