Disaster: Flood

Flash Flood Catches Sherwood Residents Near Yellville
By Ronald Sitton
Times Reporter

A "flash flood" in Yellville last week claimed the belongings but not the lives of two Sherwood residents.

Chip Bosley, 22, and Brennan Bosley, 19, both of 14 Club Circle, went fishing July 22 on Yellville's Crooked Creek. A hot and muggy trip turned into an adventure for the brothers.

The Bosley's attempt to pull Chip's 1993 Chevrolet extended cab 4WD pickup from the jaws of the George's Creek.

   While fishing and canoeing, a thunderstorm came through and flooded the Bosley campground. Chip's 1993 extended cab Chevrolet 4-wheel-drive pickup and his grandfather's Coleman pop-up camper were swamped in the flood.

   Unfortunately, the two were camping in a joint of the Crooked and George's creekbeds.

   Brennan said they were told by a game warden to camp 40 to 50 yards from the water's edge of Crooked Creek in the George's creekbed, which was dry.

   Charlie Carlton, vice-president of the Yellville Chamber of Commerce and owner of Crooked Creek Canoe Rental, said normally the bed is dry. "Really, it is (a good place to camp) unless it starts to rain," Carlton said. "This is the first time I've ever seen that happen."

   Carlton rented the two brothers a canoe and put them in Crooked Creek five miles up-river to fish. After three hours, the storm blew in and they began to paddle back to camp.

   Carlton told them it would take 45 minutes to an hour of raining before their camp would be in trouble, Brennan said.

   "There were weather advisories out but we did not know it at the time," Brennan said. "The wind was blowing about 30 mph upstream, and we were heading straight into the wind."

   The two knew they had problems when they reached the truck, where water was up to the bumper.

   Carlton was waiting, but he could not get into the truck or camper because he did not have any keys. The Bosley's hooked the camper to the truck, but it would not move. They unhooked the camper and got back in the truck. The water was past the seats and got to about the dash, Brennan said.

   "I don't think there was enough time to be scared," Chip said. "After we unhooked the camper and realized the truck wasn't going anywhere, I told Brennan it was time to get out of there."

   Brennan agreed. "Everything happened so quick," he said. "There was no time to think. We tried to save our stuff and then we had to save ourselves."

Chip (left) and Brennan Bosley attempt to dry some of the 185 compact discs saved from the pickup.

   The water was already moving the truck and could have swept them away, they said. The water rose about 4 feet in 15 to 20 minutes, Brennan said. The two retrieved a compact disc player and their wallets before wading back across the creek. Chip fell down once but made it out.

   Once on the bank, they sat and watched the scene. A log busted the truck's windshield and they watched the camper float away. "During the whole time nobody said anything," Brennan said.

   Brennan estimated it rained 4 inches in 45 minutes. Crooked Creek only rose 8 inches, but George's Creek rose 5 to 6 feet and dropped as fast as it rose, he said.

   When they decided the water was not rising anymore, the Bosley's called home. Carlton gave them dry clothes and took them to Yellville's Red Raven Inn.

   "I just tried to help them get out," Carlton said. "It got them pretty quick. We haven't been able to get the camper out yet. It doesn't happen very often at all. It was one of those fluke things."

   The Bosley's tried to sleep, but another storm blew in about 11 p.m. The next day, it took a tractor, a 4WD pickup and a wrecker to pull out the truck.

   The Bosley's found their camper about half a mile down stream where it had hit a shoal and flipped over. Though not torn up, it was filled with mud.

   Overall, the Bosley's saved their clothes, about 185 compact discs and some fishing equipment. As a memento, Carlton's secretary gave the Bosley brothers a miniature truck under rocks submerged in a jar of water.

   The insurance company covered the truck and has already paid Chip Bosley. Water ruined the truck's electrical system though the body sustained no damage, Chip said. The camper is still lying in the Crooked Creek bed.

   Yellville Mayor Al Doshier denied the report of a flash flood in the area. He said it rained, but the weather is warm now. "If they were in the creek bed, it could've got up over their truck," Doshier said.

   As far as the Bosley brothers are concerned, they will pick their own camping spot in the future. "We wouldn't have known to camp down there had it not been for the game warden," Chip said. "Next time we'll camp on top of a mountain."

This feature appeared in the North Little Rock Times on July 29, 1993.