10-year-old's body found after she was swept away by rising water in Brenham park, officials say

BRENHAM, Texas (KTRK) -- A search for a missing 10-year-old girl who was swept away by rising water in a Brenham park turned into a recovery mission late Tuesday morning, officials say.

A dive team located the girl's body at about 10 a.m., behind the Washington County fairgrounds, officials said in an update. Her family identified her as Devah Woods.

The tragic accident happened Monday at about 4:30 p.m. near Fireman's Park.

Fire officials say Devah was walking home from Brenham Elementary with her sister in the rain. The girls crossed a bridge, but water quickly rose around the side of the bridge, sweeping Devah away.

A neighbor said he saw the girls just as the accident happened. Joe Grant said he ran down the hill after them but was too late to get her. Another neighbor told ABC13, he did jump in and had her in his hands, but the water was to strong and pulled her away again.

"It's in my head, it's in my head. And all I can picture is that little girl floating around that bend," Grant said.

Authorities said a Brenham police officer also got in the water but was unable to contact Devah.

"When I saw it, I was like, 'Oh no, this cant be happening,'" Grant said.

"This is normal behavior for her to walk home and walk by the creek and get to her house. This was nothing unusual. This was a quickly rising creek that nobody could have seen coming," Melinda Gordon, with the City of Brenham, said.

Devah's mother Veronica Williams was present at an incredibly emotional press conference. She did not speak, but search officials and city leaders all had to pause for control of their emotions as they recounted the efforts that went into finding the 10-year-old.