Body of 16-year-old girl is found four days after she was swept from her car in EIGHT-FOOT monsoon flooding as firefighters desperately tried to reach her
A teenage girl's body has been found, four days after she was swept away by floodwaters in Arizona while rescuers tried to help her out of her car after she became stranded in two feet of water.
Faith Moore, 16 - the niece of a local firefighter and granddaughter of a retired fire chief - was found near the Verde River around 4pm Wednesday after disappearing during flooding from a monsoon about 100 miles north of Phoenix.
Moore called for help when her car became stranded in about two feet of water, KSAZ-TV reported - but the water rose quickly to eight feet in an hour.
Rescuers found Moore, but while trying to reach her, she was swept out of the car and downstream, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
Faith Moore, 16, was found near the Verde River around 4pm on Wednesday
Rescue crews had previously found her car in a wash after she was swept away by flooding
More than a 100 people had joined in to search for the teen over the past four days
Officials immediately sent out search teams who worked around the clock since Saturday
'So when you think of water to your knees, it can be deceiving but that's a lot of pressure and a lot of energy behind them,' Verde Valley Fire Chief David Johnson said.
Officials immediately sent out search teams Saturday, but air support was not immediately available because of 'numerous active rescues going on simultaneously'.
According to KSAZ-TV, more than a hundred people, including the National Guard, emergency workers and volunteers, searched for Moore using K-9 units, GPS trackers and thermal drone technology. The body was recovered Wednesday.
Moore was the niece of an active Cottonwood firefighter and the granddaughter of a recently retired fire chief from the Verde Valley Fire District and a retired EMS chief from Verde Valley Ambulance, Arizona Family reported.
Officials immediately sent out search teams who worked around the clock since Saturday
The four thermal drones flew over five million square feet of area
The drones were piloted from the ground by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office and the Embry Riddle Aeronautical School - as well as Yavapai College
A mobile command center is pictured as rescue crews worked to look for the teen
Members of the community are seen after Faith was swept away by flooding
Rescuers are pictured searching through a muddy wash for the missing teen
Faith's body was found near the Verde River around 4 p.m. on Wednesday
Hundreds gathered for a prayer vigil Monday at the Mingus Union High School softball field, where she was a member of the Rampage softball program.
Her club softball coaches, Paige Church and Danya Weir, mourned her death and noted in comments to KSAZ-TV that she was a mentor to younger players.
'It's anger, it's sadness, it's what could we have done, could we have done anything differently, the range of emotions is huge,' Church said.
Weir added: 'These young girls, I believe really looked up to her. She was so kind to everybody and our young ones just loved her.'
Officials read a statement from Moore's family thanking the community for its help searching for her during a press conference on Wednesday.
'Chris and Katie wish to thank all the family, friends, public safety and community that have been with us relentlessly to bring Faith home,' officials said.
'The love, prayers and support has been overwhelming and appreciated. Humbly, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Faith is now home.'
A GoFundMe was started to support the search and rescue efforts. It was not immediately clear if the fundraiser would continue to accept donations.