Dangerous water conditions hamper search for missing woman in Alameda Creek

FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- Dangerous water conditions are hampering the search for an 18-year-old Tracy woman who may have died Saturday when her car plunged into Alameda Creek in Fremont.

RELATED: Crews search Alameda Creek for missing driver

The Alameda Creek looks more like a river at this time and crews are dealing with class three rapids.

There's also risk of branches or debris causing a potentially deadly hazard for divers.

ABC7 News learned Monday this recovery effort could take days and perhaps even all week.

Rescue crews are staged along Niles Canyon Road along with a mobile response unit and have drones out to survey the area from above.

They also brought back a witness who saw the car bobbing in the water before it sank.

Emergency crews from multiple agencies are near the creek because they want to bring closure to the woman's family, but have to wait until it's safe.

"That section is very challenging because there is a bridge there. And we believe that the creek is much deeper in that location. We cannot at this time put people into the water," Alameda County Sherif's Office Sgt. Ray Kelly said.

The creek is 20 feet deep in some areas and there's a strong current, so at this point crews don't even know where the car is.

The sheriff's office is working with the California Water Resource Agency to reduce the amount of water being released into the creek.

It could take hours for that to make a difference and actually cause the water to go down.

Niles Canyon Road is closed to traffic during the search, which could be every day this week.

CHP officials plan to close it on and off and will try to plan those closures around rush hour traffic.