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An old family photo is rescued from the bank of the Red Oak Creek in Ripley. A late evening flash flood swept a mobile home off its foundation, killing a mother, six months pregnant, and her two young children. Her fiance and two older boys survived. The two older children in this photo survived.(Photo: The Enquirer/Liz Dufour)
CINCINNATI<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>A mother pregnant with her fifth child and two of her children were killed after a torrential downpour in Brown County swept away their mobile home late Saturday.
The victims were part of a family of six, who was huddling for safety in the mobile home when Red Oak Creek flooded and swept the home away at about 11 p.m. The double-wide mobile home was just a few yards from the creek in Ripley, about an hour southeast of Cincinnati.
The family's father and two other sons survived, and they were rescued two hours after the home was swept away. One of the sons was found in a tree and taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Owens said.
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The flooding resulted from a downpour that drenched<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Brown County<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in an accumulated 4 inches of rain in a short span of time. Cincinnati has accumulated 3.78 inches of rain<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in July, according to the National Weather Service.
Residents of Ripley, a village of about 1,750 people 50 miles from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Cincinnati, said the force of Saturday and Sunday's flash flood was worse than the flood that swept through the area in 1997.
Jeff Downing confirmed to The Enquirer that his neighbor and half-sister, Victoria Kennerd, was the woman killed. Her son and daughter were also killed.
Downing said his sister was engaged to be married to Marco Barrios, a construction worker, and she stayed home to raise their growing family. They had three children together, and Kennerd had one from a previous marriage.
"They were really good parents," Downing said. "They were just trying to make it like everybody else."
Downing, walks around his property in Ripley. His mobile home had previously been in the foreground where the bricks are prior to a late evening flash flood. His half-sister, Victoria Kennerd, lived next door, closer to the Red Oak Creek. Their mobile home was swept completely off its foundation. Kennerd and her two youngest children were killed. Her fiance?, Marco Barrios, and two older boys survived.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: The Enquirer/Liz Dufour)
Crews searched the water banks and surrounding area for the family overnight. The body of the girl —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>about 5 years old —<span style="color: Red;">*</span>was found about 9 a.m. Sunday, said Art Owens, Georgetown Village Administrator.
Downing and his sister both lived on land their parents settled on in 1987. His smaller mobile home was pushed into a neighboring house by the flood, but he was not at home during the peak of the water's force late Saturday night.
"Basically they were swept downstream," Owens said Sunday.
Neighbors Wade and Sharon Linville were trapped in their house across the street for about an hour as the flood waters rose and covered their driveway.
"It was up in an instant," Wade Linville said. "There was nothing they could do."
"Thank God we were up high enough," Sharon Linville added.
"They were signaling for help with a flashlight from their roof," Wade Linville said.
A trophy is amongst the debris that now lies abandoned on the banks of the Red Oak Creek in Ripley after a late evening flash flood. Three family members were killed, including two young children when their mobile home was swept off its foundation.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: The Enquirer/Liz Dufour)
They said they called the police, but there wasn't a way for emergency crews to reach them.
During the search, the American Red Cross was at the scene with the Ripley and Georgetown Fire Departments and crews from neighboring communities. Sunday afternoon, Downing and Kennerd's family and friends searched for pictures and other mementos where the home used to sit.
"We periodically get flash flooding<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and get water into homes and stuff<span style="color: Red;">*</span><span style="color: Red;">*</span>but nothing of this magnitude," Owens said.
Showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue throughout southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Indiana. The Tristate region is under a flash flood watch until midnight.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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