Six year old child swept away in AZ flooding,parents & sibling,safe

[MadeaBecBec]

The parents should have called 911......

Two major Arizona roadways remained closed Friday morning after the worst winter storm to hit Arizona in 17 years took its toll, forcing evacuations, stranding hikers and swept away a child in flooding.

Authorities on Friday morning said they believe a 6-year-old boy who was swept away in floodwaters near the northern Arizona community of Mayer is dead and that searchers were switching their efforts to trying to locate his body.
Yavapai County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn said the boy's parents tried to bring the sick child to a hospital during a powerful storm on Thursday night.

The parents loaded the boy and his 8-year-old sister into a pickup truck at their home about 70 miles north of Phoenix. Floodwaters disabled the truck and pushed it off the road.

The mother somehow made it to higher ground, while the father and two children got into the truck's bed.

The three were swept from the truck bed. The father managed to get to safety with his daughter, but the boy remains missing.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/c...storm0122.html
Heartsick over this one, wonder why Mom didn't grab one of the children and Dad the other??? WOW!

[~Absynthe~]

why did they get in the truck bed and not inside the truck?

[AngelFire]

Tragedy everywhere you turn...I think I will go hide under my covers until all these storms go away

[Misskittychaos]

How sad...this makes me hope even harder that this rain holds off now that it's stopped today.

[MadeaBecBec]

YAVAPAI COUNTY, AZ – Family friends searching along the Agua Fria River discovered the body of a 6-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters in central Arizona late Thursday.

Yavapai County Sheriff's spokesman Roial Armstrong said that around noon Saturday the body of Jacob Baudek was found along an Agua Fria River bank.

"It is closure for the family and for the people searching," he said. "It is so tragic."

Armstrong said Jacob's body was found about three miles from the truck, between Interstate 17 and Arcosanti, northeast of Cordes Junction.

Sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn said the location of Jacob's body was significantly farther away from items belonging to the boy than expected.

Officials said David and Katrina Baudek were apparently trying to take their ill son to the hospital when their vehicle became disabled in floodwaters and swept off the main roadway

Officials said a person in the area was able to throw David a rope, but as rescue crews arrived on scene the flood waters rose, sweeping him and the two children from the truck bed.

David was reportedly able to get to ground with his daughter, but Jacob was missing.

Video from Air15 shows the family's truck stuck in several feet of mud.

http://www.abc15.com/content/weather...wiraLL_cg.cspx

Baudek Family truck stuck in mud,AZ

[MadeaBecBec]

A witness nearby heard the commotion and threw David Baudek a rope while someone called for help, as storm waters rose and covered the truck's roof, Brown said. Separated by 40 feet of rushing water, rescuers could do nothing but beg for a helicopter — something weather conditions wouldn't allow, he said.

After holding on to both children and the rope for about two hours, the father lost his grip and dove toward the shore. Somehow, possibly with the help of her mother, the girl reached safety on the shore as David Baudek clutched a tree his son.

He lost his grip, and Jacob Baudek was swept away.

"Seeing it, you cannot imagine how he was able to hold on as long as he did," Brown said.

Rescuers were separated from the family by the roaring wash and couldn't reach them until Friday morning. The boy remained missing.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...Flood_99697140
First reports made it seem as though, it happened in an instant! Dad held on for two hours!!! I cannot imagine the anguish the Baudeks are experiencing. Tragic, doesn't seem adequate, it's the only word I have right now, though, besides cataclysmic and that doesn't seem appropriate.

Rest in Peace, Jacob Baudek!

[MC30]

shit.