Crews Continue Search For Girls Swept Away By Floodwaters Near Cottonwood and Pima

Crews continue their search for a 16-year-old girl who was swept away by floodwaters near Cottonwood on Saturday.

Faith Moore called 911 around 9:30 p.m. asking for help because her car was stranded in knee-high water, but the water quickly rose to over 8 feet within an hour, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.

Crews made to the scene and had visual contact with Moore but she was swept out of her car and downstream during the rescue attempt, authorities said.

Police and fire personnel from Cottonwood along with YCSO contributed resources to the search. Initial air support was not possible until hours later due to a storm in the area.

In an attempt to find Moore, ground searches were conducted throughout the night and into the morning, along with drones from various agencies, a K9 unit and an airboat from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

As of Sunday afternoon, personal items belonging to Moore have been found but she was not located, authorities said.

Moore was last seen wearing blue shorts, a light blue shirt and white tennis shoes, authorities said.

Moore is the granddaughter of the recently retired fire chief from the Verde Valley Fire District and the retired EMS chief from Verde Valley Ambulance as well as the niece of an active Cottonwood firefighter.

Over the weekend, heavy storms have caused mass flooding and power outages throughout the state. Authorities said the Verde Fire Department was working on five water rescues at the time of the call from Moore.

In another part of the state, authorities are also searching for a 4-year-old Pima, Arizona girl who was sweptaway by floodwaters on Thursday night in the Cottonwood Wash.

A woman called the sheriff’s office saying she and her children were stuck on top of their vehicle when it was pushed downstream. Rescuers were able to save everyone except the 4-year-old child.

The southern Arizona community has set up a Facebook group to help with the search. According to the posts, her name is Maci. According to a post in the group, rescuers have cadaver dogs out that specialize in underwater searches.

ADOT advises drivers not to cross a flooded wash, even if it doesn’t look deep because a few inches of running water could still pose a serious risk.

ADOT also warns people to not drive around road-closed signs as it is not only a risk but violators could be cited under state law.