This story is free to read.

Texas sheriff’s deputy missing during flooding

Women use a plastic sheet to try and stay dry in downtown Conroe, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. Heavy rains continue to hit the region with several power outages reported in the downtown area and continuing west toward Lake Conroe. (AP Photo/ The Courier, Jason Fochtman) Women use a plastic sheet to try and stay dry in downtown Conroe, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014. Heavy rains continue to hit the region with several power outages reported in the downtown area and continuing west toward Lake Conroe. (AP Photo/ The Courier, Jason Fochtman)

By Associated Press September 18, 2014 2 min read

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Rescue crews were searching Thursday for a Texas sheriff’s deputy who radioed for help minutes before her empty patrol car was found submerged by floodwaters.

Roger Wade, a spokesman for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, said the deputy was checking low-water crossings during storms. She radioed shortly before 2 a.m. CDT Thursday, saying her vehicle was being washed away in an Austin-area subdivision.

“We believe she was swept into the low-water crossing by water going down the street,” said Wade, who identified the deputy only as a seven-year veteran of the department.

Austin-Travis County EMS was contending with three other swift-water rescues in the region, Cmdr. Mike Benavides said. No injuries were reported in those rescues.

The Austin area received 5 to 7 inches of rain early Thursday, said Cory Van Pelt, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in New Braunfels. Rainfall from remnants of Hurricane Odile pelted parts of the U.S. Southwest, including in Texas from El Paso to Houston.