Indiana football star who jumped into raging river ID’d as latest victim of deadly Midwest floods
Indiana police located the body of a college-bound football star after he and three pals jumped off a bridge into a river during the deadly Indiana floods.
Matthew Morey, 18, was the sole person who remained missing after the friends leapt into the Mississinewa River near Muncie on Wednesday, with the dangerous flooding keeping rescue workers away until they finally found his body over the weekend.
“There are no words that can ease the pain of losing a child,” the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
“Our hearts are with Matthew’s family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved him,” officials added.
It remains unclear why Morey and the three others who were rescued had jumped into the raging waters during floods across central Indiana.
Grieving mother Angie Morey had held on to hope until the last minute that officers would be able to find her son after the search had been suspended due to the continued flooding.
‘I’m hurt and I need some help, and so we’re not there and I can’t get there,’ the crying mother told NBC News the day before Morey’s body was found.
“I can’t get to him because there’s no — I can’t get in a boat. If I had a boat, I swear to God I’d be in that water,” she added. “And my hope is that he’s still alive.”
Morey, a Delta High School graduate, planned to attend Purdue University in the fall, local WRTV reported.
Morey was among at least six people killed in the severe flooding that swept across Indiana in recent days, with rescues carrying on into the weekend.
Along with Morey, authorities said a four-year-old boy was killed after a tree fell on his home, and a woman was also swept away to her death after driving into the floodwaters.
More than a dozen counties have declared disaster emergencies, with much of the damage concentrated around the rivers in Hamilton County north of Indianapolis.
President Trump approved an emergency declaration for the state, with federal disaster assistance available to the affected areas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Saturday.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett described the situation as the most severe flooding the city has experienced in more than 30 years, with hundreds of homes evacuated.