Missing College Student Found Submerged in Floodwaters

As the rivers rose to flood stages, an Evening Shade family waited in agony for news of their son. Tuesday morning they received the call that every parent of a missing person fears. Their child's body had been found.

20 year old Shane Stauffer's red Chevy Blazer, that had been the object of a 3 day search, was found submerged in Piney Creek near the farming community of Needmore, Arkansas. Stauffer's body was still inside.

The college student, who was a junior at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, had left a friend's house early Sunday morning. It was undetermined if he was headed to his parents' home in Evening Shade, a small town near Cave City, or back to UCA's campus. When he failed to show up at either place, authorities were called in. Search teams were assembled and began to comb the areas. Routes were drawn up to both destinations, and searches began on the ground, and from a helicopter in the air. But the inclement weather was working against the rescue efforts.

Some parts of Arkansas received as much as 4 inches of rain over the weekend. Creeks were flowing fast, and swelling over the banks. According to Sharp County Sheriff Dale Weaver, Shane would have had to cross three low water bridges in order to get out of the area he was in. It wasn't until the rains stopped on Monday, that the waters in these swollen creeks began to recede.

A driver traveling along Antioch Road, near the borders of Izard and Sharp Counties in North-Central Arkansas saw the top of the SUV and called Izard County Sheriff, Tate Lawrence. When investigators got to the scene, they discovered that it was indeed the missing man's truck. Stauffer had been washed off the road by the rushing creek water and carried 1,000 feet downstream in the rising current. The SUV was lodged in the bend of the creek and covered by flood waters making it impossible to see from land or air.

According to FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program, flooding is the second leading cause of death from natural weather hazards. Only hot weather and extreme temperatures kill more citizens each year. Flash floods occur in all 50 states. They can often bring a wall of water 10-20 feet high that carries rocks, trees, mud and debris, and will sweep away most things in it's path. It only takes 6 inches of rushing water to knock a person off their feet, and just 2 feet can carry a car away.