BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The body of a Bloomington man who was swept away Friday night after his vehicle got caught in a wave of flash flooding that followed heavy rainfall has been found in flood debris, officials said.
The body of Colten Booe, 31, was found Sunday morning in a pile of flood debris by a group of family and friends who had been searching for him, the Bloomington Police Department said.
Monroe County Coroner Joani Shields identified Booe’s body, and an autopsy was scheduled for Monday to determine his cause of death, The Herald-Times reported.
Booe was reported missing early Saturday after he vanished Friday night as his vehicle entered fast-moving floodwaters that rose quickly after severe thunderstorms swept the area and other parts of the state, producing one tornado in northeastern Indiana.
He was driving south on College Avenue with a friend who told police that as the men drove through the rushing water, their vehicle began to drift and eventually collided with an unknown object.
Police said Booe’s friend climbed from the open passenger window of the sedan and was dragged underwater, but he grabbed a tree branch and pulled himself to safety. The 29-year-old man, who was treated at a hospital for several injuries, said he did not see Booe or the car again.
Bloomington police found Booe’s empty vehicle on its side Saturday morning, with no one inside, while searching along the banks of Clear Creek.
