Receding floodwaters reveal missing dad’s SUV with his body inside, Florida cops say
The body of a missing dad was found in his submerged SUV that was swept into a creek during intense flooding, Florida authorities said.
The day Hurricane Debby hit the Gulf Coast, 67-year-old Jose Andino was heading from Sarasota to work in Bradenton, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and his daughter.
Scarleth Andino said she last spoke to her father as he was driving to work in his red Toyota 4Runner at about 1:30 p.m. Aug. 5.
But she told WTSP he didn’t come home after his shift.
“I checked outside, and his car wasn’t there, and that’s when I started (thinking) like, ‘That’s not right,’” she told the outlet. “He’s never not come home.”
He never made it to work, and he was reported missing the following day, deputies said in a news release.
His phone last pinged near Bahia Vista Street and Phillippi Creek, where severe flooding prompted street closures, deputies said. Near that area, photos show first responders rescuing residents stranded by high floodwaters.
More than 500 people had to be relocated to higher ground, according the Sarasota Police Department said.
The storm dropped over a foot of rain in Sarasota County, according to the National Hurricane Center, but “its most significant impact was river and flash flooding.”
The sheriff’s office said it used K-9, aviation and marine units to search for the missing man near his last known location, but to no avail.
“Of course, I’m always hopeful,” Scarleth Andino told WTSP. “I want my dad back. No matter what, in whatever condition, I just want my dad back.”
She organized a search party for her father Aug. 10.
As the water levels eventually began to go down, a passerby spotted a vehicle submerged in Phillippi Creek on Aug. 12, deputies said.
It was Jose Andino’s 4Runnner. Divers found his body inside.
His daughter shared the news in a GoFundMe raising money for his funeral expenses.
“This week has taught me how loved my dad was and I am grateful to everyone,” she wrote.
The storm made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in the Big Bend area near the Florida Panhandle at about 7 a.m. Aug. 5, according to meteorologists.