Sister of woman swept away in Weber River speaks after two years

WEBER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Acceptance. It’s something that can be hard to learn, but as the Weber River has continued to rush over the past two years, Mattie Heiner is accepting. 

“For a long time, [the river] brought a lot of trauma and a lot of really sad emotions,” she said. “But now looking at it… brings a lot of peace.”

It’s been two years since Mattie’s younger sister, Libby, went walking her dogs along the Weber River. On May 1, 2023, 28-year-old Libby Stimpson was swept in. 

A handful of 911 calls came in, all saying they heard a woman’s screams coming from the water. 

Crews responded quickly, lining the river and letting Libby’s loved ones know. 

Kenzie Norton, Libby’s best friend, said she remembers getting a call from Libby’s mother telling her to get to the river quickly. 

“I knew when I got in the car that something was really, really wrong,” she said. 

Volunteers jumped in to help, too. For months, people watched the river, and volunteers even took shifts. Search crews spent about 3,500 hours actively looking for Stimpson. 

“We had a map of how far down that we thought that somebody may have gone, and we searched that area,” Weber County Sergeant Paul Babinsky said. “We probed the river floor, using sonar and stuff like that.”

But if you stop by that bridge on the river now, you’ll notice that it looks different than it did two years ago. In October 2023, about five months after Libby fell into the river, crews called off the search. The area, once so busy with search crews, is now left silent.

“Once we start getting into those later months when it starts to get cold, that was the time that we probably needed to call it off, so everybody would be safe,” Sgt Babinsky said.

Libby was never found. When loved ones think about that decision to call off the search, their feelings ebb and flow. 

“It came with a lot of emotions. There was peace,” Mattie said. “There was sadness because we didn’t get an outcome.” 

“You really had to dig within yourself and think, ‘I have to become ok with this final resting place, there’s no other option,’” Kenzie added. 

As quickly as the river rushes, life goes on, but loved ones say the memories don’t go anywhere.

And their love for Libby is constant, just like her final resting place. 

“I love you,” Mattie said in a message to Libby. “I miss you and I wish you were here.” 

The Weber County Sheriff’s Office says this is still an active case. If you come across someone or something you think may be helpful, give Weber dispatch a call at 801-395-8221.