Friends, family members, and community search volunteers discovered the body of Colten Booe, 31, of Bloomington, Sunday morning in a wooded area south of W. Countryclub Dr.
Booe and a friend were driving through the intersection of W. Dodds and S. College when the car was swept away in rapid moving floodwaters from Friday nights flash flood. A family friend told the Bloomingtonian Sunday morning the passenger managed to escape the car and swim to safety sustaining a concussion and other injuries in the process, but Booe hadn’t been seen since.
The car was later found upside down in Switchyard Park with extensive damage. A search for Booe was resumed at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, and around 8:45 a.m. a body was discovered.
Bloomington Police Capt. Ryan Pedigo sent the following press release to the media Sunday:
“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
________________________________________________________________
June 20th, 2021
For more information, please contact:
Captain Ryan Pedigo
Bloomington Police Department
(812)349-3324
Bloomington Police Investigate Missing Man in Floodwaters
On June 19th, 2021 at approximately 7:45 a.m., a man called the Bloomington Police Department to report his brother, Colten Booe (31, Bloomington), missing. It was learned that on the evening of June 18th, the missing man had last been seen in a vehicle that had been driven into rapidly-moving floodwaters near the intersection of S College Avenue and W Dodds Street. The complainant had been attempting to find his brother at various locations but had been unable to do so.
Investigators were able to determine that Colten Booe had been with a friend on the night of the 18th headed southbound on College Avenue in a 2016 Nissan Versa. The 29-year-old friend told investigators that the Booe was driving the vehicle and they had attempted to drive through floodwaters near the intersection of S College Avenue and W Dodds Street. The friend stated that as they were driving through the rushing water, the vehicle began to drift and eventually collided with an unknown object. The friend said that he climbed out of the open passenger window of the vehicle and was immediately dragged under water for several seconds. He was eventually able to grab tree branches and pulled himself from the flood waters, but never saw Booe or the vehicle again. The man contacted a family member to pick him up and he was taken to the hospital for treatment of several injuries.
Upon receiving the missing person report, officers began checking the banks of the flooded creek and located the Nissan Versa at approximately 8:45 a.m. on its side in floodwaters in Switchyard Park. A diver from the Indiana State Police was able to get to the vehicle but the missing man was not inside it. The vehicle had extensive damage as a result of being swept down the flooded creek. Officers checked the areas around Switchyard Park for the missing man but did not locate him.
On June 20th at approximately 8:45 a.m., a group of searchers consisting of family and friends of the missing man located a body in a pile of flood debris approximately 50 yards south of County Club Drive near Clear Creek. Officers responded to the scene and it was determined that the person was deceased. Monroe County Coroner Joani Shields also responded to the scene and positively identified the decedent as Colten Booe.
An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday, June 21st, to determine Booe’s cause of death. All inquiries about cause and manner of death should be directed to the Monroe County Coroner’s Office.
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