Jessica Hollis, the Texas deputy who went missing last week while she was on patrol, has been found in Lake Austin after flood waters carried her and her car away.
“We wanted to bring her home alive. She had been out there in that water for a while. She’s back home now and not out there by herself anymore,” said an emotional Sheriff Greg Hamilton.
Hollis was reportedly checking a low water crossing in the early hours of Thursday morning when she called in over the radio that her car was being taken by the flood. Heavy rains overnight and into Friday morning made the search for her difficult, but her coworkers never gave up hope that they would find her alive. Now, the department says their priority is to focus on her family, including her 12-year old son.
“The people should know that she gave her life — she was out that night patrolling our streets in Travis County — to keep people safe. She gave her life protecting others,” said Senior Deputy Brett Spicer.
According to Hamilton, Hollis was a member of the dive team and was a strong swimmer, but the onslaught of flood waters was too much even for her. The camera in her vehicle has been recovered, but it’s not known at this time whether investigators will be able to get any information from it as her car was submerged when they arrived on the scene.