Houston authorities continue to search for a pair of teenagers who went missing after their truck crashed into White Oak Bayou.
The two were driving along Fairbanks North Houston Road above Little York around 3 a.m. early Saturday morning as heavy rains and flooding crippled streets across the region. When their pickup plummeted into the bayou, officials believe the water was roughly 20 feet above normal levels.
When rescue crews pulled the truck from the bayou later on Saturday, neither victim was found.
“The current was in excess of what they call ’15 knots,’” sergeant Doug Hudson from Harris County Marine Division told KHOU after the accident. “That’s very dangerous current and it would sweep a body a long ways from here. It could be two or three miles down here, and we probably won’t see any sign of a body ‘till maybe Monday.”
An official with the Harris County Sheriff's Office tells CultureMap that the search, now labeled a recovery effort, currently covers a five-mile stretch of White Oak from the accident site at Fairbanks down to the 610 Loop at T.C. Jester. Deputies spent Sunday combing through a wooded area next to bayou north of Tidwell.
The names of the missing teenagers — a young man and women aged 18 and 17, respectively — have not been released to the public. Friends say the male victim, who is believed to be the driver, attended Houston Can Academy and has a two-year-old son.
Watch the full KHOU Ch. 11 report:
Rescue crews concentrated on a wooded area near the bayou at Tidwell on Sunday.
Lazy Lane will serve pastas, small plates, and steaks. Photo by Brian Kennedy