After eight hours on roof, Kansas family rescued — by private citizens

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — After eight hours of waiting on their south Overland Park rooftop, Emiliano Yepez-Martinez’s family was rescued at 12:30 p.m. by private citizens braving flood waters.

The clan of seven “is safe and sound,” said Jason Rhodes, manager of media for the Overland Park Fire Department. “We can’t condone private citizens taking that risk, but at least everyone’s OK.”

Yepez-Martinez had hightailed to the roof with his family only to wait, rest on blankets and pace as TV helicopter crews buzzed above his home in the 15500 block of Kenneth Road.

At 9:30 a.m., the father told The Star on his cellphone: “We’ve been waiting five hours, maybe more.”

With at least 8 feet of water from the swollen Blue River swirling in the family’s yard, Yepez-Martinez paced on the roof as his wife and five children — two girls and three boys, the youngest being 9 — took turns climbing down a ladder to retrieve food and other items from their flooded home.

“We’ll get in the future a ball, just to pass around,” Yepez-Martinez father joked.

Authorities set up an emergency staging area four blocks away and waited for the flood waters to drop.

Rhodes explained at midmorning: “Because they (the Yepez-Martinez family) are not in imminent danger and the water levels around them are receding, crews will allow those water levels to drop to safer levels before evacuating the family.”

Even after a citizen came to their rescue in what Rhodes called a large, military-style truck, “there was rushing water that had to be navigated,” Rhodes said. “It was risky.”

Yepez-Martinez told The Star said the family ascended to the roof of the one-story, four-bedroom home in the middle of the night. “The noise from the river woke us up,” he said.

His wife called 911 right away. Then he called, then his 18-year-old son called.

From his view atop the roof while talking to The Star, Yepez-Martinez said he saw no emergency vehicles as 10 a.m. approached.

“Still waiting,” he said. “Five hours.”

Make that eight hours, as of their rescue.