6-12-10
Deadly meso low strikes Arkansas Albert Pike basinLANGLEY, Ark. – The search for nearly two dozen people who disappeared after flash floods swept through a popular campground went from desperate to grim on Saturday, after teams that scoured miles of river and rugged wilderness found just two bodies.
The last time someone was found alive was late Friday morning, hours after a pre-dawn wall of water surprised sleeping campers at the Albert Pike Recreation Area
At least six of the 18 people confirmed killed were young children, according to a list released by Gov. Mike Beebe's office publicly identifying 15 of them. Among them were five people, including three children, from Gloster, La., as well as three others from that state and six from Texas. State police said Saturday evening that there were 22 people missing.
Floodwaters rose as swiftly as 8 feet per hour, poring through the remote valley with such force that it peeled asphalt from roads and bark off trees. Cabins dotting the river banks were severely damaged, and mobile homes lay on their sides.
Forecasters had warned of the approaching danger in the area during the night, but campers could easily have missed those advisories because the area is isolated.
The last body found Friday night was retrieved 8 miles downstream from the campground, and authorities Saturday combed the headwaters of Lake Greeson, a large body of water about 20 miles from the camp that would be the furthest any of the bodies could travel.