SMU officer missing after car swept into Turtle Creek

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Officials are looking for the body of an SMU police officer whose car was swept into Turtle Creek in Dallas because of high water.

Highland Park police said they got a call around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning from the officer who was working off duty as a private security guard at a construction site. He said he was trapped in his car, which was being moved by high waters.

Police lost contact with the officer. Grainy surveillance video suggests he might have gotten out of his white Dodge Charger as it washed into the creek near Fitzhugh Avenue and St. Johns Drive.

The vehicle was located by search crews on Tuesday afternoon and pulled from the creek shortly before 4 p.m. The officer's body was not inside the vehicle.

Teams from Dallas, Highland Park and SMU have searched a two-mile stretch of the creek from Turtle Creek Boulevard to the Trinity River. The search effort was still ongoing as of Tuesday evening to locate the officer's body.

In a statement, SMU Police Chief Richard Shafer said his department is saddened by the news.

"SMU police are offering support to the search and rescue effort being mounted by Dallas Fire-Rescue. We thank neighboring police and fire departments and rescue crews for their ongoing efforts. Our prayers and thoughts are with the officer's family members and other loved ones as the search continues. Respecting the sensitivity of family members, first, we will share more information as it becomes available," he said.

The officer's name has not yet been released.