Toddler Torn From Dad's Arms During Tropical Storm Bill

2-year-old swept away in flood waters
By Brownie Marie,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 19, 2015 9:27 AM CDT
Toddler Torn From Dad's Arms During Tropical Storm Bill
Water pours over Turner Falls and floods the park below on Thursday, June 18, 2015, in Davis, Okla. Tropical Depression Bill swamped Oklahoma and Arkansas on Thursday, pushing rivers toward record levels after the Gulf-fueled storm slowed to a crawl over the nation’s midsection. (Steve Sisney/The Oklahoman...   (EDMOND SUN OUT, OKLAHOMA GAZETTE OUT)

"The water ... was so forceful that it washed away the barricades and pushed manhole covers out of the streets," Ardmore, Oklahoma, emergency manager Amber Wilson tells Fox News of what Tropical Storm Bill unleashed on the area. It was in these conditions that the father of two-year-old Jeremiah Mayer tried to wade across Hickory Creek on Wednesday night, but was overcome. The rising waters swept Jeremiah out of his arms, leading to a search near the creek and along the river yesterday.

Firefighters found the boy's body at 2:40pm, about 150 feet from where his father lost his grip on him, according to NBC News. NewsOK reports by way of a GoFundMe page that the family's home was ruined in the storm and notes that Jeremiah's father, a former Marine, is currently out of work; the family is expecting another child this year. (More tropical storm bill stories.)

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