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Search for Chesco woman to continue

Police looking for a missing Chester County mother found four or five submerged cars in the Schuylkill River today, but no sign of the woman.

Philadelphia police divers prepare to search part of the Schuylkill River along River Road in Lower Merion, where they believe Toni Lee Sharpless, who has been missing for two weeks, may have driven into the river. (Ron Tarver / Staff Photographer)
Philadelphia police divers prepare to search part of the Schuylkill River along River Road in Lower Merion, where they believe Toni Lee Sharpless, who has been missing for two weeks, may have driven into the river. (Ron Tarver / Staff Photographer)Read moreRON TARVER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
    by Joelle Farrell, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
    Published 

Police looking for a missing Chester County mother found four or five submerged cars in the Schuylkill River today, but no sign of the woman.

Police plan to return to the site next week with divers and stronger lifting equipment to remove the cars.

Toni Lee Sharpless, 29, has not been seen since she and a friend reportedly split up after leaving a party Aug. 23 in Lower Merion. The friend, Crystal Johns of Coatesville, told police that Sharpless asked her to get out of her car after the two argued over whether Sharpless was too intoxicated to drive.

About the time that Johns left the car, Sharpless' 12-year-old daughter, who had been having trouble sleeping, received a text message saying her mother was coming home.

Record checks showed no further activity on Sharpless' phone or credit cards, police said. Sharpless and her daughter lived with her parents, Donna and Peter Knebel.