A body believed to be the remaining missing flood victim in Greenbrier County was found Tuesday afternoon in Caldwell, deputies say.
Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan Cahill said a large search team with cadaver dogs was canvassing the flood-ravaged area and found the body around 4:15 p.m. Cahill said law enforcement is not in a position to make a positive confirmation on the identity of the body, but that it is likely Mykala Phillips, the 14-year-old who washed away in the June 23 flood that destroyed her family's White Sulphur Springs home.
"It's good to put that final chapter to rest," Cahill said.
The body has been sent to the state Medical Examiner's Office, and Cahill said the medical examiner should return a positive identification in the next few days. Saturday marked the probable end of a nearly seven-week search for Phillips.
When a sudden wave of water hurtled down Howard Creek and crashed into the Mill Hill Drive home, the family had no other choice but to jump in the water. It was that or be washed away with the house.
Their mother, Becky Phillips, was working at The Greeenbrier at the time. Mykala and her two brothers tied themselves to their father, James Phillips, with extension cords they found in the home. Once in the water, Mykala was at the back of the line to make sure her youngest brother, Carter, 7, didn't get swept away.
The rushing water ripped the extension cord that tied her to her family. She was swept away.
Volunteers searched for weeks for the girl, who would have been a freshman at Greenbrier East High School this fall. A celebration of Mykala's life was held on July 31 at Bethesda Church in White Sulphur Springs.