This archive report was first published on 30 November 2019.
Published on November 30, 2019, authorities in Arizona were searching for three children after a vehicle was swept away in a flooded creek in Gila County.
The incident occurred near the community of Tonto Basin, where a vehicle carrying seven children and two adults became stuck in Tonto Creek while trying to cross the road over it.
According to Undersheriff Mike Johnson, four children and one adult were later rescued from a sandbar, while one woman was rescued from the shore.
Multiple agencies, including the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, were assisting in the search for the missing children.
The authorities did not release the names or ages of the missing children and the people who were rescued, citing the partly submerged vehicle as a reason for not fully describing it.
Tonto Creek, located approximately 200 miles east of Phoenix, was experiencing heavy flooding due to the storm, with three crossings closed earlier in the day.
Undersheriff Johnson stated that the creek was running at about 2,000 cubic feet per second when the incident occurred, describing it as a 'pretty swift current.'
