Harrowing photos show what's left of volunteer fire chief's vehicle after he was swept away in Texas floods
A desperate search was under way for a volunteer fire chief who disappeared when floodwaters swept away his exigency truck near Cow Creek in Texas Hill Country Past president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Gary Ludwig revealed that Fire Chief Michael Phillips of the Marble Falls Volunteer Fire Department went missing early Saturday after being swept away by floodwaters while responding to a call near Cow Creek in Travis County Texas miles from Austin Texas Chief Phillips was driving an urgency bus when he went missing late this morning Ludwig wrote in a post on Facebook The van has been determined however the Chief has not been located with the car or anywhere else as of yet he continued TEXAS FLOOD SURVIVORS SHARE HARROWING STORIES SEARCH CONTINUES FOR THOSE STILL MISSINGHarrowing images of Phillips' truck show it thoroughly smashed and covered in flood debris Ludwig noted Phillips was still missing as of Sunday evening The Burnet County Sheriff's Office mentioned that it is actively searching for Phillips with the search area being focused on three distinct areas off FM between Faith Academy and the Cow Creek area with an additional search underway north of US Highway near Hamilton Creek in Burnet TEXANS PLEDGE TO COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY DEVASTATING FLOOD 'WE ARE HEARTBROKEN' As of the time of this post there are known missing individuals and we currently have recovered the remains of individuals the sheriff's office wrote in a post on their Facebook page Sunday evening During a news conference on Monday Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd emphasized that teams remain dedicated to the ongoing search until all missing individuals are located KVUE revealed Over the weekend administrators announced intense flooding swept through the region complicating their search operations and that continued rainfall has further damaged infrastructure making it challenging for crews to reach lower-lying areas TEXAS RIVER FLOOD LEAVES AT LEAST DEAD AS CRISIS CREWS RACE TO FIND OTHERS MISSING CAMP EVACUATEDAuthorities noted that chosen methods of search such as horseback or ATV patrols are presently not viable due to hazardous conditions Numerous low-water crossings and bridges remain in need of repair before exigency teams can fully access all affected locations According to his Facebook profile Phillips has served as a volunteer fire chief since Fox News Digital reached out to the Marble Falls Fire Department and the Burnet County Sheriff's Office but did not straightaway receive a response On Monday the White House stated at least people were killed in central Texas in flash flooding that began early on the morning of the Fourth of July The National Weather Function also issued multiple Flash Flood Warnings on Monday for counties in central Texas
