Sumner Newscow report –  The Sumner County Sheriff’s Office has recovered the body of the driver who went missing from a submerged vehicle from yesterday afternoon.

The victim was identified as Venkatesh Doppalaudi from Elkhorn, Neb. He was 33-years-old.

Deputies went to the 600 block of south Oliver Road after the report came in of a submerged vehicle on the west side of the bridge. A witness told deputies that they saw the vehicle go into the water, and that someone was still inside the vehicle.

The speed and force of the floodwaters prevented water rescue with the Wellington Fire Department from entering the water. A Kansas Highway Patrol Air Unit assisted in the search for the driver, along with a police drone.

After four hours of searching, it became too hazardous to continue and the rescue was suspended until Sunday morning.

The body of the victim was found at 12:19 p.m. on Sunday, about 1/4 mile downstream from Oliver Road.