Police and rescue workers in and around Clifton Forge searched the James and Jackson rivers on Friday night after a woman reported seeing a child floating in the water.

Clifton Forge police Chief Barry Balser said officers responded shortly after 7:30 p.m. to part of Smith Creek near Clay Street. Balser said the woman told police she saw what appeared to be an infant in a white dress floating face up in the water. She said the face appeared blue or purple.

"She was visibly shaken by this," he said.

The part of the creek where the sighting occurred is about a half-mile from where it flows into the Jackson River, Balser said. The Jackson River then flows into the James.

Officials from Clifton Forge, Alleghany County, Eagle Rock, Sharon, Iron Gate, Selma and Covington searched with thermal image cameras and floodlights until about 10 p.m.

The search will resume today at 8 a.m. "The water was too choppy to put any boats in," Balser said.

No children were reported missing by late Friday night, and a reverse 911 message did not draw any responses. "We put a lot of stock into it, but we're hoping it [the search] proves there was nothing there," Balser said.