Child found dead, woman still missing after floodwater submerged cars, Texas cops say

Update: A 5-year-old girl who was reported missing after the car she was in became fully submerged in floodwater was found dead late Thursday afternoon, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said in a recorded press conference. The 52-year-old woman, who was in a separate car, has not yet been found. The two cars were occupied by extended family members believed to be heading to school.

Original Story

If a woman and young child are found alive after being submerged in high Texas floodwater, the county sheriff says that will be “nothing short of a miracle.”

Still, first responders in Bexar County aren’t ready to give up.

“I don’t believe (a miracle will) be the case, but with that being said we’re going to do everything possible to make that happen,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said in a Thursday morning news conference video posted to Facebook.

The woman and young child, believed to be about 5 years old, were in two separate sedans — likely on the way to school — when the cars were both trapped in high water east of San Antonio. Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, along with other departments, assisted the family and were able to rescue everyone but the woman and child who are still missing.

One car became fully covered in floodwater, while the other was partially submerged.

“The vehicle we believe the little girl is in is fully submerged,” Salazar said. “The firefighters were actually walking on the roof of that car and even then the water was still up to their knees and the current was pretty swift.”

To get that car out, emergency crews will need to attach a cable underneath it and pull it from the water, Salazar said. But to do that, rescuers must find a way to get a four-wheel drive truck to the area without it also sinking.

The other car does have one door open, Salazar said, so teams are using drones to search the area in hopes the woman was able to get herself out. The woman is also believed to be the one who called 911 alerting them of the situation.

“It’s pretty heart wrenching stuff,” Salazar said.

The rescue effort has since switched to a recovery and an investigation on how the cars found their way into floodwater is ongoing.

“We are not going anywhere until we’ve got a resolution to this problem out here,” Salazar said.

Officials also want to remind others to take another route if you see flooding on a roadway.

“Turn around, don’t drown,” the sheriff’s office said.

The flooding followed a period of rainfall that prompted flood warnings in parts of Bexar County, Texas Public Radio reported. Most of the county received up to 3 inches of rain.

This story was originally published October 14, 2021 at 5:40 PM.