HARDEE COUNTY, Fla. — As a record-setting flood continues to ravage communities along the Peace River, Hardee County has discovered its first fatality related to that flooding.
According to Captian David Drake with the Hardee County Sheriff’s Office, the deceased was found near a tributary of Charlie Creek, which flows into the Peace River near the border between Hardee and DeSoto Counties.
According to Drake, the deceased was driving near the tributary when their vehicle was swept off-road by floodwaters.
Earlier Saturday, Hardee County Sheriff Vent Crawford said he feared the flooding would prove deadly.
“It's something we can all hope and pray that doesn't happen, but the conditions are so massive, we understand that there is a possibility of it,” he said. “We just hope that it [doesn’t become] large numbers."
For days, crews from Hardee County and partnering agencies like the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office used boats to search partially-submerged RV parks and subdivisions for survivors.
As of Friday, 65 people had been rescued.
Vent said those efforts will continue.
"We're interested in those areas that we can't get to,” he said. “We're working on that, as we speak, from the air."
The Peace River and other local water bodies like Charlie Creek were already high after heavy rains in early September, but rain from Hurricane Ian exacerbated the problem — bringing the Peace River into 'major' flood stages in both Zolfo Springs and Arcadia.
The flooding has closed several major roads — including U.S. 17 near Gardner — and caused State Road 64 to wash out completely west of Zolfo Springs.
Now, as the water slowly recedes, the sheriff says first responders will get a better idea of Ian’s toll.
Meanwhile, as Hardee County deputies and a growing village of law enforcement partners continue their search and rescue missions, the community is coming together to help and heal.
Saturday, hundreds of cars lined up to receive water, food, and other items from the Cutting Edge Ministries Foodbank.
Pastor Wendell Smith said Hardee County will bounce back as it did after taking significant damage from Hurricanes Charley, Jeanne, and Frances in 2004.
