Woman, 4 great-grandchildren killed in East Texas flooding
PALESTINE, Texas -- Authorities found a sixth body late Saturday following flash flooding in East Texas that also killed a woman and her four great-grandchildren.
The latest victim was identified as 30-year-old Giovani Olivas of Palestine, Texas, who was swept under flood waters.
Palestine police said all six bodies have been taken to Tyler for autopsies, which will be completed on Monday.
More than seven inches of rain fell in less than an hour late Friday evening, swamping a neighborhood and forcing some people onto their roofs, according to Capt. James Muniz of the Palestine Police Department.
Around 3:45 a.m., police received reports about a missing family from the area and sent officers to search the houses in waist-deep water.
Water rose to the rooftops in Palestine (TX) after 7.5 inches of rain fell overnight. pic.twitter.com/b9OV4aoagT
— Brian New (@BrianNewCBS) April 30, 2016
Merta White was waiting to be rescued from the roof of her house when she saw a bump in the water, the Palestine Herald-Press reported.
"I thought it was a mailbox, but then I realized what it really was, and I started screaming," she said of seeing the body.
The bodies of two children were found in the front yard of a residence near the street. A continued search found the bodies of an adult female and two more children.
The victims included the woman, who police identified as Lenda Asberry, 64, and her four great-grandchildren, identified as Devonte Asberry, 8; Venetia Asberry, 9; Jamonicka Johnson, 6; and Von Anthony Johnson Jr., 7.
"When we finally got the water to get low enough, so we can wade out about chest deep, we still couldn't find them," neighbor Marion Stevens told CBS News. "Once the water receded, that's when we started finding the bodies."
Stevens said it was the worst flooding he's seen in more than 30 years.
"The water came down the hill," Muniz said. "The street was full of mud, so the water just came up. With the enormous amount of rain we had, we had people tell us that within minutes, the water was waist deep."
City officials used a dump truck to rescue one man from the roof of a home, Muniz said. One neighbor told authorities that he saw the family but lost sight of them as he waded through water.
Palestine is about 100 miles southeast of Dallas and is home to about 18,000 residents.