Sixth person presumed dead in Texas flooding

Rescue teams suspended their search Saturday for a man now presumed to be the sixth person killed by rising waters in Central Texas, and forecasters warned that the recurring rain could cause more flooding statewide.

A daylong search that included cadaver dogs and kayakers on the swollen Pedernales River ended with Edgar Garcia, 22, still missing since the current swept away his sport utility vehicle Thursday.

Five other storm-related deaths, including two brothers ages 5 and 6, have already been confirmed.

"I just don't believe there's a chance anymore," Gillespie County Sheriff Milton Jung said. "If he was alive, someone would have found or heard him by now."

Forecasters expect the storms, which have dumped more than 10 inches of rain in some areas, to continue through at least Sunday.

Roadways were washed out and some intersections remained closed Saturday after two days of rain pounded the area. Gov. Rick Perry activated National Guard troops to be deployed in Waco, Austin and San Antonio for the holiday weekend.

Central Texas remained under a flash flood warning Saturday, and as much as three more inches of rain could fall in the region by Sunday, said Jennifer Dunn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

North Texas and the Houston area also braced for heavy rains, and the weather service issued flash flood warnings for both regions.

Authorities said the search for Garcia has shifted from a rescue effort to body recovery. Garcia had driven around a barrier set up near the river, which swelled to as much as 20 feet above normal.

About 30 people searched a seven-mile stretch Saturday for Garcia, Gillespie County sheriff's Lt. Jim Judd said. The river remains as much as seven feet above normal, and Jung said the high water levels prevented boats and search dogs from getting in the water.

The search will resume Sunday morning, Judd said.

Farther north in Killeen, the bodies of two brothers, ages 5 and 6, were found early Friday in a submerged SUV.

The boys were riding with their mother and two siblings Thursday when their vehicle was washed off the road into a gully, said Garland Potvin, a Bell County justice of the peace.

Rescuers saved the mother and two siblings, but the swift-moving water rose too quickly for rescuers to help the boys trapped inside, Killeen police said.

The body of a 20-year-old man caught in rushing water was found lodged along a culvert late Thursday in Killeen, Potvin said.

Outside Copperas Cove, a husband and wife died late Thursday after attempting to cross floodwaters in their vehicle, said Bill Price, a Coryell County justice of the peace.