SOURCE: News release from Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Update from DNR as of 3 p m. Sunday, May 26:
Indiana Conservation Officers are continuing to search Deer Creek by boat for missing four year old Owen Jones. Water conditions have deteriorated because of heavy rains overnight. Areas around Delphi received approximately 1 inch of rain in the last 12 hours, with heavier amounts of rain falling throughout the watershed areas of the creek.
Water conditions, which improved slightly yesterday, are now again very hazardous. Aside from the strong current, the water is very muddy, which makes it impossible for rescuers to see anything below the surface. With these factors in mind, it is very important to understand how very dangerous it is for members of the community to be near, or enter into, the water with any intentions of helping with search efforts. Everyone involved with this tragedy wants to find Owen Jones. However, anyone searching the water without the proper training or equipment, in today’s conditions, will likely become a victim themselves.
ORIGINAL POST: Indiana Conservation Officers are currently searching for a missing 4 year-old child after he was witnessed being swept away in a flooded creek.
At approximately 6 p.m. this evening, Carroll County 911 received a report of a child being swept away in flooded creek at Riley Park in Delphi.
The initial investigation has revealed that a 4 year-old male was playing near Deer Creek in Riley Park when a witness observed him struggling in the water before being swept away.
Indiana Conservation officers are currently on scene searching by boat and utilizing sonar. Additional resources are on their way to assist.
The 4 year-old child was last seen wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and blue shorts.
Officers on scene are urging the public to not venture near the water to assist with the search due to the dangerous elevated water levels and current.