Flash flooding on Sunday claims one person's life

Torrential rainfall and flooding led to a fatal incident last Sunday evening in Union County.

A woman who had been in a passenger car was reported to have lost her life after the vehicle was swept down a creek at the state forest. 

The woman was reported to have been one of two persons in the car. A man also was in the car.

The state forest is located between Illinois Route 127 and Wolf Lake. 

The creek runs parallel to the State Forest Road. The road goes through the state forest.

Authorities had not released the name of the victim as of press time on Tuesday.

The flooding at the state forest occurred when heavy rain deluged parts of the Union County area on Sunday evening.

The National Weather Service reported that 4.5 inches of rain was measured in Cobden. Unofficial reports of up to 8 inches of rain were reported in the county.

Union County Sheriff Scott Harvel said that the incident at the state forest was reported by a passerby at about 6 p.m. Sunday.

Two persons, a man and a woman, were reported to have been in a vehicle which was attempting to leave a picnic grounds area at the state forest. The driver apparently attempted to ford the creek. The vehicle was swept down the creek.

The sheriff said that water he estimated to be 10 to 12 feet deep was seen Sunday evening at the state forest.

The two persons got out of the vehicle. The man was able to get to safety. The woman was swept down the creek. 

Emergency services personnel worked until about 10:30 p.m. Sunday to find the woman. The search was suspended Sunday night and then resumed at about 6:30 a.m. on Monday. The victim was found at about 7:15 a.m. Monday.

Emergency services personnel who were involved in the search included those from the Union County Sheriff’s Office; the Union County Ambulance Service; fire departments from Alto Pass, Anna, Jonesboro and Ware-Wolf Lake; the Union County Rescue Squad; and an urban swift water rescue team which was in the region in response to continued major flooding on area rivers.

The vehicle was removed from the creek on Monday morning by Rod’s Towing of Jonesboro.