Voelz
The Bartholomew County Coroner’s office is conducting a forensic autopsy on a local man whose body was found in the Driftwood River Thursday.
The coroner’s office identified him as Darrell Voelz, 62, Columbus, who had been reported missing after severe flooding inundated areas near local rivers and creeks in Bartholomew County last weekend and rapidly rising water caused multiple water rescues throughout the county.
County Coroner Tom Barrett said his office was called to the scene near the Lowell Fishing Site after the county’s Water Rescue Team located Voelz’s body around 1:15 p.m. Thursday. His body was located in the Driftwood River near the intersection of North County Road 325W and Lowell Road, said Sgt. Dane Duke, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office had been conducting a search along the Driftwood to investigate Voelz’s disappearance, which was again reported by his friends Wednesday. The friends told sheriff deputies that Voelz chose to stay behind Saturday as they vacated cabins along the river near the 5000 block of North County Road 250W as flood waters rose. When the water rescue team checked the area of the cabins Sunday, they did not locate Voelz, deputies said.
The highest water in that area was believed to have reached 16.5 feet, well above flood stage, and inundating a scattering of old cabins and structures along the river, according to the sheriff’s office.
Last Sunday, the Bartholomew County Water Rescue Team responded to the area in regards to a welfare check on Voelz at 3:47 p.m. The caller who reported that Voelz had remained at the cabin could not provide emergency personnel with an address, only describing the area. The rescue teams searched the area, including checking all residences, however they were unable to locate Voelz. A secondary search was conducted at 6:05 p.m. Sunday, again not resulting in locating Voelz.
On Wednesday, friends again contacted the sheriff’s office as they had not had contact with Voelz. Deputies performing an additional welfare check were able to locate the cabin Voelz was staying in that was revealed as the flood waters receded.
It appears the structure, described as a primitive riverside dwelling by investigators, caught fire at some point during the flood incident. The dwelling is believed to have burned to the water level at that time, but then was covered by the increasing flood water. At the time the water rescue searches were being conducted, the dwelling was covered with flood water.
Voelz’s death is the only known fatality in Bartholomew County following severe flooding that affected the Driftwood, East Fork White River, Haw Creek and the Flatrock River over the weekend.
First responders rescued 31 people from flood waters last weekend, including about 20 unhoused individuals and their dogs who had been staying in encampments near Noblitt Park and behind the Bartholomew County Jail. First responders did go out to the areas prior to the flooding to warn the individuals that they needed to leave, but they did not do so, resulting in the need for water rescues after floodwater covered the encampments.
The other rescues were individuals who drove into high water and road closed areas, ignoring the warning signs. The rescues also included at least one resident who had water fill up his basement and asked for help after he could not leave his home safely.
Bartholomew County Emergency Management Director Shannan Cooke said last weekend’s flood appears to be the most extensive since the catastrophic flood in Columbus in 2008.
Over the weekend, the East Fork White River crested at 17.9 feet, the third highest crest recorded in 112 years, according to emergency management records. The Driftwood River crested at 16.57 feet and the Flatrock River crested at 16.22 feet during the weekend flooding.
