Man, Dog Still Missing After Search Amid Barrington-Area Flooding
BARRINGTON, Ill. (STMW) -- Rescue teams moved from the Flint Creek in Lake Barrington to the Fox River on Wednesday in search for a man and his dog, who were seen earlier in the day caught in the water floating downstream.
A white man with dark hair — spotted with his head above water — was moving quickly with the current, said Barrington Fire Lt. Michael Brown, detailing the emergency call that came in at 11:29 a.m. The man and his dog were caught on the west side of the bridge that runs over the creek.
At 2 p.m., Brown reported that no one had been found, and the search operation had turned to a "recovery" mission. At 5:30 p.m., the dive teams had moved their search to the Fox River. As of 5:45 p.m., dispatchers from the Barrington Fire Protection District reported that they hadn't received a related missing persons report.
Police Cmdr. Ken Hoffman, of Lake County Forest Preserves, said the man and dog were spotted by a Waste Management employee, who was driving on Kelsey Road.
Brown said the search was aided by media helicopters. The ground and water search was led by personnel from the Barrington, Lake Forest, Lake County, Cary, Wauconda and Fox River Grove fire departments.
The "swiftwater rescue" team and divers were joined by the Lake County Sonar Team.
The search and rescue operation was stationed at Flint Creek, where the caller had reportedly seen the two drift away.
More than 5 inches of rain was recorded in the Barrington area overnight Wednesday causing flash flooding across the region.
"We had flooding in a number of neighborhoods," said Village Manager Jeff Lawler, adding that already saturated soil from previous rains exacerbated the situation. "We had flooding around the low points in the community because that's where the water accumulated."
Major major routes temporarily closed because of flooding have since reopened, but some residential streets remain impassable Wednesday afternoon.
Another water rescue was reported on Russell Street near Summit in Barrington. A home was surrounded by water, trapping those inside, Lawler said.
Emergency crews drove an elevated vehicle to the front door to help the residents get out.
At the storm's peak, rain came down at a pace of 8 inches per hour, but Lawler said that rate of rainfall didn't last.
"A typical rain storm will result in approximately an inch of rain over this same time period, and in most cases would not cause any flooding in village streets or sewers," a Barrington press release stated. "The last wide‐spread flooding event to hit Barrington was in 2010, when the village received 2.6 inches of rain in a 12‐hour period."
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
