A woman was found dead Monday afternoon after her vehicle was swept into a flooded creek during heavy rainfall in eastern Bandera County, according to the Bandera County Sheriff's Office.
The vehicle was located around 4:30 p.m. submerged several miles downstream from where it entered the water near the 1500 block of Lower Mason Creek Road. The driver was recovered from inside the vehicle and succumbed to injuries sustained during the incident, Sheriff Josh Teitge said.
Authorities said the incident began at approximately 5:30 a.m. when the woman called 911 and reported that her vehicle had been swept into a creek by fast-moving floodwaters.
The caller told dispatchers she was floating downstream at a high rate of speed and was unable to exit the vehicle.
911 operators remained in contact with the woman for several minutes before the call was disconnected, likely because water entered the vehicle.
Before losing contact, dispatchers were able to determine the caller's location through a cellphone ping, providing responders with her last known location.
Hours before the vehicle was located, Teitge told News 4 San Antonio that emergency crews had lost contact with the woman and were conducting an extensive search along the waterway.
"We've lost contact with her completely right now," Teitge said. "I have multiple local and state agencies searching the river through the potential route of float for the vehicle itself."
Search crews had found debris believed to be from the vehicle, including part of a rear bumper and pieces of sheet metal, Teitge said.
The Bandera County Sheriff's Office, local fire and rescue personnel, swift-water rescue teams, a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter and drone operators searched throughout the day. Teitge also thanked the Center Point Volunteer Fire Department and dozens of local volunteers who assisted in the effort.
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