Home Albemarle County: Swift water rescue efforts paused in search for 12-year-old boy
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Albemarle County: Swift water rescue efforts paused in search for 12-year-old boy

Crystal Graham
water rescue road closed
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A 12-year-old boy is missing after he was swept away by rushing water in Albemarle County this evening.

Following more than three hours of rescue efforts, first responders are now pausing the search due to limited visibility in the overnight hours and for the safety of all involved.

The boy was walking outside in the area of Newtown Road and Valley Green Drive when he was swept away by rushing water that had overtaken the roadway from a nearby creek.

Career and volunteer units with Albemarle County Fire Rescue and officers with the Albemarle County Police Department responded to the call at approximately 5:30 p.m.

The search will resume during daylight hours on Wednesday.

A flash flooding alert was sent out by the National Weather Service in Sterling this evening for Albemarle, Augusta and Nelson counties. The alert warned of life-threatening conditions that were ongoing or expected to begin shortly. The warned area includes Crozet, Crimora, Wintergreen, Afton, Nellysford, Greenwood, Yancey Mills, Batesville and Greenfield.

Heavy thunderstorms were bringing rainfall up to 2.5″ per hour, according to the alert.

Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.