Three people have been rescued and a fourth arrested as part of a water rescue that developed before sunrise Saturday morning.
Lyon County deputies were called out to the intersection of Road 160 and H around 4:30 am. Undersheriff John Koelsch says a car driver went past barricades and into floodwaters. The Emporia Fire Department’s water rescue team took three people to dry land — Wichita residents Noah Kanziyere, 24, and Jay Howe, 18, as well as a 17-year-old pregnant teenager who is not currently being named. None of the three needed a hospital trip.
Koelsch urged drivers to heed barricades so they don’t have potential issues like the ones that developed Saturday morning.
The rescued people say two others in the car left the scene around 2 am after the vehicle ran out of gas. They have not been found. A drone from the Reading Benefit Fire Department is being used to help with that part of the investigation.
On top of that, Koelsch says deputies also arrested 18-year-old Robert Hise of Emporia, who ignored law enforcement directions to stay away — and instead tried to use a bicycle to go through the floodwaters and get to the car.
The current investigation comes after deputies and the Emporia Fire Department’s water rescue team were called out to Roads 150 and E shortly before 4 pm. Emporia Fire Battalion Chief Rich Gould tells KVOE News there was a report of a person inside a pickup surrounded by water at that location. Further investigation determined that was not the case. Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope says a nearby individual said he was checking water levels. An investigation continued into the evening hours as a precautionary measure.
In other flood-related news, barricades have been removed from several Lyon County roads affected by flooding this week. Unfortunately, Kansas Highway 99 south of Emporia is not yet on that list.
Hours after saying barricades wouldn’t be removed until roads were passable, the Lyon County Highway Department cleared over 20 roads and intersections from a list that essentially been building all week. Having said that, the current list is still long:
-Kansas Highway 99 from Soden’s Grove to Road 130
-1900 Road 60
-Road 140 from Road H to Road K-5
-Road 145 from Road G to Road H; west of Neosho Rapids river bridge
-Road 150 from Road C to Road E; Road E to Road F; from Road H to Road K-5; from Road M to Road N; from Road N to Road R; west of Road X
-Road 155 from Road K to Road K-5
-Road 160 from Road N to Road R; Road R to Road S
-Road 170 from Road N to Road R
-Road 177 West of Road P5
-Road 240 from Road D to Road E
-Road A from Road 170 to Road 180
-Road B-2 from Road 170 to Road 180
-Road B-5 from Road 170 to Road 180
-Road C from US Highway 50 to Road 180
-Road E from Road 140 to Road 160
-Road F from Road 160 north
-Road G from Road 140 to Road 145
-Road G5 from Road 170 to Road 175
-Road H from Road 140 to Road 145
-Road J from Road 130 to Road 160
-Road K from Road 130 to Road 155
-Road M from Road 137 to Road 150
-Road N from Road 160 to Road 170
-Road P from Road 160 to Road 170
-Road R from Road 160 to Road 170; from Road 140 to Road 160
-Road S from Road 130 to Road 137
-Road T from Road 130 to Road 150
-Road W from Road 122 to Road 145; south of Road 155
Minor to moderate flooding continues along the Cottonwood from Emporia to the west and on the Neosho east of Emporia.
The Cottonwood River at Emporia is at 25.09 feet, above flood stage of 20 and trending down from a crest of 26.17 feet Thursday evening. The river may go back into its banks Monday and it may not totally clear Highway 99 until early Sunday. A flood warning now continues until Monday afternoon.
The Cottonwood at Plymouth is at 32.71 feet, above flood stage of 32 but below its crest of 34.42 feet Thursday. The river could go below flood stage Saturday morning. The warning now gues until Saturday evening.
At Neosho Rapids, moderate flooding is ongoing. The river is at 25.7 feet, above flood stage of 22 but below the crest of 27.11 feet Thursday. The river may go below flood stage Monday morning. The flood warning now continues until Monday night.
The Cottonwood at Cottonwood Falls is now back within its banks, so the flood warning is now over. The river is at 8.6 feet, below the 9-foot flood stage. It crested at 14.1 feet Thursday.
Stay with KVOE and KVOE.com for flood coverage this weekend.
