Official describes rescue efforts after Arizona flash flood
Gila County sheriff's deputy shares details after flood sweeps family away
Ten family members are dead following a flash flood in Arizona earlier this month. On Friday, the Gila County Sheriff's Office identified the tenth body found as 27-year-old Hector Garnica.
What happened?
A 911 call placed on the afternoon of July 15 concerned a search-and-rescue operation near the Cold Springs swimming hole north of Payson, the Gila County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook. The swimming hole is located in the Tonto National Forest.
"In central Arizona, it's the monsoon season, and thunderstorms and heavy rains can develop very quickly," sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. David Hornung explained to Fox News.
A severe thunderstorm took place in a remote area that had been burned by a recent wildfire, Water Wheel Fire and Medical District Fire Chief Ron Sattelmaier said.
ARIZONA FLASH FLOOD: MORE CREWS, DOG JOIN SEARCH FOR MAN SWEPT BY FLOODWATERS
What do we know about the victims?
"The heavy rain flooded the creek, and this large family unit was down by the river and had practically no warning that this flash flood was coming down the river," Hornung said.
Fourteen people were swept away. Of the nine confirmed victims, five of them were children.
The victims were identified by the Gila County Sheriff's Office. They included Selia Garcia Castaneda, 57, Maria Raya-Garcia, 27, Maribel Raya-Garcia, 24, Javier Raya-Garcia, 19, Jonathan Leon, 13 and Erica Raya-Garcia, 2.
The sheriff's office named the other victims as Danial Garnica, 7, Mia Garnica, 5, and Emily Garnica, 3. All were children of Maria Raya-Garcia and tenth flash flooding victim Hector Garnica.
Hector Garnica, Maria Raya-Garcia's husband, was initially unaccounted for.
The Gila County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that a body, believed to be Hector Garnica's, was found "just below the confluence of Shoo Fly Creek and the East Verde River."
On Friday, the sheriff's office said that the body had been identified as his.
"Sheriff Shepherd would like to send his condolences and prayers to the family of this tragic accident," the office said. "We are actively working to help bring closure to this incident and for this family as they begin to heal."
Four others were successfully rescued, the sheriff's office said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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