TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa police and fire located the body of a woman who disappeared during severe weather on April 1.
The Tulsa Fire Department said the 46-year-old woman sought shelter in a storm drain behind the Walmart on Admiral and Memorial with her boyfriend. He told them when the water rushed in the woman was swept away.
Andy Little with the Tulsa Fire Department said this sort of call is common for the department - but it's never a good idea to shelter in the storm water system.
"Specifically in this area we get calls for people in the storm drain, there are homeless people that get in there to escape [the weather]," said Little. "But it is a very dangerous place to take refuge because it's designed to remove those storm waters and water is very dangerous and very powerful."
After talking to the woman's boyfriend crews searched for the woman until 3 a.m. with drones and other resources with no luck.
Crews regrouped early the next morning and sent the City of Tulsa's Pipe Ranger robot into the storm drain to search before sending crews down.
After more than three hours Tuesday morning crews found the woman's body about 104 feet from the recovery crew's point of entry. Little said this is a reminder for everyone to not mess around near the storm drains.
"‘It’s a 42 inch pipe, and if it’s full and the waters moving, that’s a lot of force," said Little. "If an adult or a child finds themselves inside one of those, it can very easily be deadly."
Josh Sanders with the Tulsa Day Center said waiting the weather out in a storm drain is a common practice for the homeless. And while there are a number of resources around the area, there aren't enough beds for everyone who needs them.
"Unfortunately, we have somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 people who do sleep unsheltered here in Tulsa," said Sanders. "Our shelters are at capacity and so we do have a number of people who have no other choice but to sleep outside."
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