The community in Ashland and Kenova has been brought to a somber finish of a long, anguished wait: on Saturday afternoon, November 8 2025, authorities confirmed that a body recovered from the Big Sandy River was identified as 42-year-old Mompida Hay of Ashland, Kentucky. The discovery marks the end of an emotionally exhaustive search that began nearly two weeks earlier when Hay was reported missing after apparently jumping from the I-64 bridge. Her loved ones are left to grieve, reflect, and try to make sense of the loss.
Hay is believed to have jumped from the interstate bridge on October 27, near the state line of Kentucky and West Virginia, officials say. That night, rescue teams from the Kenova Police Department, along with agencies from Wayne County and Boyd County, worked into the darkness attempting to find her — but despite their efforts, she was not located at the time. What followed was a relentless series of searches, dive operations, and community volunteer efforts that carried on for days.
Then, on Saturday, two kayakers navigating the Big Sandy River reported what appeared to be a body in the water. Responding immediately, fire and rescue crews from the Ceredo Fire Department and the Kenova Fire Department retrieved the body just after 4 p.m. The location was more than a mile downstream from the original jump site at the bridge, indicating the strength of the current and the challenges the search teams faced.
The body has been turned over to the West Virginia Office of the Medical Examiner for formal identification and to determine cause and manner of death. While that process has begun, the returning of her remains brings a bittersweet closure to the friends and family who had held out hope that she might be found alive.
Friends describe Hay as gentle-hearted, deeply loving, and someone whose presence brought comfort to those around her. The news of her recovery — though tragic — brings an end to the limbo the community has lived in, and invites collective mourning. In Ashland and beyond, tributes are being shared to honor the woman who, by all accounts, meant so much to those who knew her.
This incident underscores the unpredictable nature of the river, the powerful currents of waterways like the Big Sandy, and how swiftly tragedy can unfold. It also highlights the dedication of first responders who searched relentlessly, and the community whose hope stayed alive longer than the darkness of those early hours in late October.
As Hay’s loved ones now take the time to say goodbye, her memory remains: of a soul who cared for others, whose absence will leave a hole in hearts, but whose spirit will ripple out into the lives she touched. May she rest in peace, and may those who mourn find comfort in the memories that endure.
