By Steven Thomas
The Valley Times-News

WEST POINT — The Troup County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a missing Valley, Alabama woman who was last seen at Shafer Heard Campground near West Point Dam on Friday.

According to Troup County Sheriff’s Sgt. Stewart Smith, Miranda Whitten, 24, was last seen in a teal-colored kayak on the lake at around 12:30 Friday. At 2:30 p.m., the kayak was discovered by itself.

“At this point, we’re just looking and trolling the lake,” Smith said. “We’ve got a team of about 20 people out looking.”

Smith noted that a storm came up shortly after Whitten was last seen and that might have either overturned the kayak or caused her to take shelter.

If anyone has seen Whitten or saw her around the time she was last seen, please call Troup County 911 at (706) 883-1700.