The Colorado Springs Fire Department confirmed that a body was located in Monument Creek early Thursday evening after earlier reports of someone being swept away by the rushing water.
CSFD spokesperson Ashley Franco said the body was found around 5:15 p.m. after the water levels of the creek came down. The deceased reportedly matches the description of the man who a caller reported entered the creek and was swept away around 2:20 p.m.
Officials are working to identify the deceased at this time, Franco said.
First responders put up yellow barricade tape near Monument Creek in the area of Goose Gossage Park at the same time the Fire Department announced the recovery operation.
Franco said a caller around 2:20 p.m. saw a person standing on a creek bed in the area of 4000 Star View, east of Centennial Boulevard, before entering the water at Douglas Creek, which flows east under Interstate 25 and into Monument Creek.
The fire department warned of rising creek levels today amid spurts of heavy rainfall totaling at least 0.48 inches Thursday.
The recovery efforts follow more than one swift water rescue in the past week of people trapped or threatened by rising water levels as the region got drenched with record rainfall. Monthly totals of 4.32 inches have far exceeded the May normal of 1.01, causing rising water levels and flooding.
Multiple crews were working in several areas along the creeks between the area of Garden of the Gods Road and downtown. Approximately 30 personnel were on the scene using drones and walking along the waterway to search for the missing person, with help from the Colorado Springs Police Department.
At 5:53 p.m., CSFD reported the search had turned into a recovery operation. If the person had not been located, the search would have continued until sundown when efforts would have either been scaled back or called off, Franco said.
“Please keep yourselves and pets away from the creeks as water is rising and moving quickly,” CSFD wrote on Twitter.
This is a developing story, which may be updated as more information becomes available.
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