Search halts for man missing after flash flood in northern Arizona
Jul 18, 2017, 5:00 PM | Updated: 5:01 pm
Members of the Tonto Rim Search and Rescue Team comb the muddy East Verde River near the entrance to the First Crossing recreation area during the search and rescue operation for a victim in a flash flood Monday, July 17, 2017, in Payson, Ariz. The bodies of several children and adults have been found after Saturday's flash flooding poured over a popular swimming area in the Tonto National Forest. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX — A search was halted because of storms Tuesday for a Phoenix-area man who was swept away in a flash flood in northern Arizona.
Multiple agencies and volunteers were combing a mountainous area in the Tonto National Forest near Payson for Hector Miguel Garnica Jr., 27, of Cave Creek for most of the day before weather moved in.
He was one of nearly a dozen family members caught in raging waters that overtook a swimming hole last weekend.
Nine people, all family and friends of Garnica, including his wife and their young children, were killed in the flood at Cold Springs.
“I’ve seen miracles happen before,” Detective David Hornung of the Gila County Sheriff’s Office said.
A flash flood watch has been issued for much of northern Arizona, including where the search team was working. Crews had to end their search Monday because thunder and rain moved into the area.
The National Weather Service said the flash flood watch was in place from 11 a.m. Tuesday through Wednesday evening.
Arizona State Department of Forestry and Fire Management spokeswoman Tiffany Davila said weather conditions may cut into their efforts.
Howard Bertram, of Carefree, has known the Cave Creek family for 17 years. “They’re wonderful people. … Nobody has a bad word to say about them,” he told KTAR News.
Bertram said the extended family would often celebrate birthdays with parties.
The trip that took them up north was to celebrate the 26th birthday of Maya Raya, the younger Garnica’s wife.
The search area is about 100 miles northeast of Phoenix.
A GoFundMe appeal to help pay for funerals met its goal in a day.
KTAR’s Ashley Flood and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
