Police and fire officials said Tuesday they had not been able to find the body of a young man, believed to be in his teens, who was last seen Monday night in Goldsmith Gulch creek near Yale Avenue.
He could be anywhere downstream, said Denver fire officials, so the search was called off. Goldsmith Gulch empties into Cherry Creek, which then feeds the South Platte River.
Fire department spokeswoman Heather Green said officials did not know the name of the boy and no one had been reported missing. He could have gotten out on his own, she added.
Jason Whaling and Nick Inhelder were driving by Bible Park on Monday night when they saw the commotion.
Rescue teams worked feverishly to get a rope around Denver police officer Jairon Katz, who was in the creek up against the cement tunnel clutching a guardrail.
“He was hanging on for dear life,” said Whaling.
Whaling and Nick Inhelder were driving by Bible Park Monday night when they saw about six police cars stopped where Goldsmith Gulch creek crosses Yale Avenue.
The Denver officer, later identified as Katz, was tying to rescue a boy in the creek when the officer got swept away in the water that was about 6 feet over its banks.
“People were yelling at him to hold on, hold on,” Whaling said.
Firefighters tried to extend a ladder from a pumper to Katz, but it was of little use.
“He was a big strong guy but he was just too weak to grab it,” Inhelder said.
Meanwhile, about 20 people with flashlights were scouring the creek for the boy Katz was trying to rescue.
“There were people all up and down the creek looking for him,” Whaling said.
After about 20 minutes, rescue teams were able to place a rope around Katz, then pulled him to safety. About five or six people carried him up an embankment, Whaling said, where an ambulance was waiting to take Katz to the hospital for hypothermia.
“It was amazing to see them fighting to save one of their own,” Inhelder said.
Those walking in the park Tuesday said they hadn’t seen this type of downpour in years.
“It was absolutely torrential,” said Brad Sharp, who lives a few blocks from the park. “I knew there were going to be problems.”
The gulch is in a floodplain that is designed to funnel water to it during heavy rains. But the flash flood was too much for it to handle.
“The water is a dangerous thing,” Sharp said. “It comes fast, and it’s hard to control anything.”
On Tuesday morning, Denver officials were at the park, measuring how high the water had climbed.
Wayne Long said the creek floods a couple of times a year, but the 15-year resident of the area couldn’t remember it getting this bad.
“It was crazy,” Long said. “That’s the worse I’ve ever seen it.”
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
