By Bonita Wilborn
Search crews believe they have found the vehicle that was swept away by floodwaters at Buck’s Pocket on Friday, February 22.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, February 26, search crews found a vehicle underwater near the site of the accident. It was beneath a culvert on Matheny Creek. At this time, they cannot confirm this is the same vehicle that was swept away in the rushing water a few days prior, but they have reason to believe it is.
A scuba diver from Etowah County was called to the scene along with a heavy recovery rotator wrecker. The diver, assisted by the rotator wrecker and swift water rescue team, attempted to dive to the location of the vehicle. However, the water current was too strong to allow effective submerging near the area where the vehicle was spotted.
Crews say there is still no sign of 18-year-old Koy Spears of Geraldine.
The accident occurred when officials say Spears and two others drove onto the concrete bridge and flood waters pulled the vehicle into the waterway. The two others were found holding onto a tree and were rescued.
“We just have to eliminate by grid pattern along the creek. There’s obvious places it can’t be due to the depth and we would already see it, so we’re just going to continue our efforts until we meet our objective, and that’s bringing the body back to the family,” said Mike Jeffreys, Superintendent at Lake Guntersville State Park.
The search is suspended until the water recedes enough to let crews search safely.
At press time, [Tuesday, March 6] it was eleven days and counting. The flood waters have somewhat receded, but the rushing current is still far too dangerous for divers to search the deep recesses of the creek, and removal of the located vehicle is not yet feasible.
While there have been no reports of the teen showing up anywhere on land, there has also not been any concrete evidence that he is still in the water. Therefore, Leslie Spears, Koy’s mom and their friends are holding out hope that he’ll still make it home. Leslie said, “I want less focus on the water and more on the woods surrounding it. He could be in those woods, and those woods have not been scoured. Everyone is focused so much on the Jeep and the water.”
The friends who were in the Jeep with Koy when they were swept off the bridge believe Koy was still in the Jeep when it sank.
Authorities report that when the water subsides to a safe level, they’ll pick up the search again, but for now, state troopers are posted at Buck’s Pocket State Park, and the whole park is closed and will remain closed until the search for Koy Spears has been completed.