USA TODAY International Edition
Search goes on for missing girl in Ariz.
TONTO BASIN, Ariz. – More than a hundred community members from Pinetop, Arizona, gathered in Tonto Basin on Sunday morning to search for a missing 6- year- old girl swept away in a flash flood.
Willa Rawlings was one of three children left inside a truck that was inundated by surging water after relatives attempted to drive through a crossing at Tonto Creek. Tonto Basin is about 90 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix.
Two 5- year- olds, Colby and Austin Rawlings, were found dead Saturday.
Lacey and Daniel Rawlings were in the truck with the children when friends and relatives say they tried to cross the creek at a crossing that was closed earlier that day because of flooding caused by a major winter storm.
Lacey and Daniel Rawlings are the parents of Willa and Colby.
Austin, their niece, is the daughter of Daniel’s brother, Jay Rawlings.
Nathan Sherwood, Lacey’s brother, flew in from Houston on Friday to help with the search efforts. He cried as he spoke to the crowd of volunteers before search efforts began Sunday.
“I cannot thank you enough,” he said. “This is about the only light in this dark situation.”
Among the volunteers was David Merrill, who came with a group of members of the Pine Top’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. He said he would have come to help regardless, as he has known the Rawlings for more than 30 years.
“The Rawlings family are a fixture,” he said. “They’re the salt of the earth and they have done so much. Little League, school ... volunteers for football ... whatever it took, they’ve been in the middle of it.”
Merrill became emotional as he spoke about the community’s efforts to help in the search.
“The whole community’s rallied around them to show their love and support during this tragedy,” he said.
Authorities also continued to search Sunday for the 6- year- old girl, the only one of nine family members unaccounted for on Sunday. The search included multiple police agencies with aircraft, kayakers, ATVs and rescue dogs working along the creek.
On Friday afternoon, six members of the Rawlings family were rescued when the vehicle was overcome by water in the creek, according to the Gila County Sheriff ’ s Office.
The Rawlings family members are from various areas of Arizona and were in the area visiting relatives for the Thanksgiving holiday, according to Lt. Virgil Dodd of the Gila County Sheriff ’ s Office.
A GoFundMe page was established for “the Rawlings Family Accident” on Saturday afternoon. More than $ 10,000 was raised by Sunday morning.