COTTONWOOD, AZ — Authorities say a body found Wednesday has been identified as a 16-year-old girl who was swept away by floodwaters near Cottonwood last week.
Local, state, and federal agencies have been involved in the search for 16-year-old Faith Moore, who was swept away in a flash flood Saturday night.
Family of 16-year-old Faith Moore gave statement to law enforcement officials, thanking everyone and saying: “Faith is now home.”@abc15 pic.twitter.com/PfpcjTshe8
— Ashley Paredez (@AshleyOnABC15) July 29, 2021
Officials say Wednesday afternoon Search and Rescue personnel located the body of a young woman where the Verde River meets the wash where Moore was last seen.
Verde Valley Fire officials reported that around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday the teen called 911 asking for help because her car was stranded in knee-high water.
Crews from Verde Valley Fire, Cottonwood Fire, and Police responded and made visual contact with the teen. The water quickly rose to over eight feet within the hour.
During the rescue attempt, the girl was swept off her car and went downstream.
Due to the rising waters and active storms, air support was not immediately available, according to fire officials.
Officials said a K9 officer from Cottonwood Fire was also washed downstream at the same wash as the teen.
Authorities say some of the girl's personal belongings were found at the scene.
Officials said there are estimates from hundreds to 1,000 in the community that helped with the search.
"The community support has been absolutely incredible and the amount of volunteers has been overwhelming but we also need to be mindful that we do not create more calls due to high heat and humidity. We're expecting more storms here this afternoon," Verde Valley Fire Chief Danny Johnson said.
Cottonwood officials say Moore is the granddaughter of the recently retired Fire Chief from the Verde Valley Fire District and the retired EMS Chief from Verde Valley Ambulance, also the niece of an active Cottonwood Firefighter.
