Flash Flooding Kills 13-Year-Old in Joplin, Authorities Say

Authorities say a 13-year-old boy has drowned after he was swept away by flash floodwaters in a Joplin drainage ditch.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the boy as John Wheeler of Carl Junction.

Joplin police say officers received a call around 9 a.m. Saturday that the boy was walking by the water when he slipped and was pulled away by the current. He was found near a low-water bridge and pronounced dead at a hospital.