4-year-old Burleson boy was with parents when he was swept away by floodwaters

BURLESON, Texas - A 4-year-old boy was killed in weekend flooding in Johnson County.

Lucas Warren of Burleson was with his family when he was swept away on Sunday morning.

Now, the Johnson County Sheriff's Office is trying to piece together the fatal flooding incident that has left a family and a community mourning a 4-year-old boy.

"At one point in time, the water was actually completely over these rails and it was all rushing like that over the top," said Chief Deputy James Saulter.

The chaotic flooding in Johnson County claimed a 4-year-old boy's life.

Lucas Warren is pictured in an online fundraiser for the family.

Investigators say the little boy's body was discovered several hours after the initial search began.

A sheriff's deputy, who was first on the scene, quickly realized the danger.

"When she turned around her unit, the water had already started coming up from behind her unit and she was getting trapped and said the water is rising fast," said Deputy Saulter.

Investigators say the 4-year-old was with both his parents in the early morning hours when his father drove into an area with rising water along County Road 528 in Burleson.

A 911 caller reported that they all got out of their vehicle and tried to walk to higher ground.

"Apparently they were walking out together, holding the child, and it came rushing through and knocked them off their feet and carried them downstream," said Saulter. "Everybody was separated. At one point, we were told the mother had the little boy for a period of time, and then she lost hold of him."

The chief says search and rescue teams in boats could barely maneuver the treacherous floodwaters and a drone was no help to locate the boy because the area was so dense with trees and large debris.

"The drones could’ve helped us out, but they didn’t get that far. There was just so much debris that was flowing through there, there were cars car trailers, side-by-side golf carts," said Saulter. "We had to pull the boats out, the rescue team had to pull the boats out, because it was just too strong at one point in time."

Luca Warren would have turned 5 years old in just two weeks.

The chief deputy says the department is continuing with its effort to better understand everything that took place.