Crews carry GPS devices to look for girl swept away by flood near Cottonwood

PHOENIX —  Authorities are fitting ground crews with GPS tracking devices as they look for a 16-year-old girl swept away by floodwaters near Cottonwood on Saturday.

Each searcher looking for Faith Moore in the wash was provided a tracking device, allowing officials to map the searchers’ progress and to plan next steps, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said.

The search continued Tuesday with personnel from multiple agencies and volunteers checking between where Moore’s car was found and downstream to the Verde River.

Some of her belongings were found Sunday.

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

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

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

She 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, authorities said.

Heavy storms over the weekend caused mass flooding and power outages throughout the state.

The Verde Fire Department was working on five other water rescues at the time of the call from Moore, authorities said.

In southeastern Arizona, the body of a 4-year-old Pima girl swept away by floodwaters Thursday night was found Monday.

Drivers are advised 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.

People are advised to reduce speed and maintain a safe distance between vehicles during storms, avoid sudden braking that can cause sliding on wet pavement as well as reducing speed by slowly taking your foot off the gas pedal and braking slowly.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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