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Texas Floods: Man Who Posted Haunting Photo On Facebook In His Submerged Truck Found Dead

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 07:51 PST, May 29, 2016

Darren Mitchell, 21, was caught up in the Texas floods on Thursday and posted a photo on Facebook from inside his flooded truck. Mitchell’s body was found Saturday over a mile away from where his vehicle was found.

According to his sister, Mitchell, who was reportedly a National Guardsman, called his family on Thursday to let them know he was trapped in flood waters on Highway 105, just outside Brenham in Washington County.

As reported by the International Business Times, during a search for Mitchell on Friday, his sister Ro said, “(My brother) just said he was all right and he made it out of the truck.”

However, soon after he called, he posted a photo on Facebook, showing the floodwater rising outside his truck and adding the comment: “And all I wanted to do was go home.”

His family says Mitchell eventually stopped responding to phone calls on Thursday night.

Mitchell’s truck was found on Friday morning, and the family gathered around as first responders searched the water in an attempt to find Mitchell, as he was not inside the vehicle. Reportedly, a helicopter searched the scene from overhead.

Lashandoe Smith, a witness at the scene, said she watched as Mitchell’s truck was swept into the water. She went on to explain what happened.

“And he got out of his truck, he got in the bed of his truck, he got back out, on top of his truck, and then all of the sudden he got back in his truck. And like maybe 10, 15 minutes after he was in his truck, it just flipped and he top sided into the water.”

Smith added, “It just disappeared. Once it flipped, you didn’t see tires, his truck, nothing. It just tumbled over.”

As reported by KHOU.com, after emergency crews searched by helicopter and boat on Friday afternoon, they were unable to find Mitchell. They reportedly had to call off the search when another storm front moved in and it was only on Saturday when the search continued that the victim’s body was found, around a mile away from where his truck was found.

Reportedly, Mitchell is the third person in Washington County to lose their life during the recent Texas floods. Reportedly, a 64-year-old nurse drowned in Chappell Hill after she became trapped in her trailer home.

According to her neighbor, Annie Rogers, “They called somebody to go check on her, they got there she was already drowned in the water. They couldn’t get in.”

She added, “EMS was on the little boat, they could see her in there and after that, they said, ‘Well, they can’t get in there because she’s already dead.’ ”

According to the Brenham Fire Department, another victim of the Texas floods died of a heart attack after driving into high water. Firefighters say there were 45 high water rescues in the area overnight.

The floods are also affecting Kansas, where a search was launched for Devon Cooley, an 11-year-old boy, who slipped and fell into a creek while crossing a footbridge. The search continued on Sunday, but reportedly the chances of finding him alive are slim.

According to the Wichita Fire Department battalion chief Scott Brown, they are regrettably “more in body recovery mode than rescue.”

[Photo via KHOU video]

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