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Body Of Missing National Guardsman Recovered After Flooding In Maryland

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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Two days after he tried to save a woman from rising flash flood waters, National Guardsman Eddison Hermond’s body has been recovered from the Patapsco River near Baltimore.

The Howard County Police Department posted the sad news on Facebook.

NEWS RELEASE: Body of Eddison Hermond, missing from Ellicott City flood, found in Patapsco River

Howard County Police have confirmed that the body of Eddison Alexander Hermond, 39, who went missing during the Ellicott City flood, was found by searchers today in the Patapsco River, just across the Baltimore County line.

Hermond was last seen Sunday, May 27 in the area of La Palapa restaurant on Main Street at approximately 5:20 p.m. Witnesses reported that Hermond was attempting to help a woman who had escaped through a window with her cat, when he became swept up in the rushing water. An acquaintance reported him missing to police at 12:30 a.m. on Monday.

Rescue personnel have been searching buildings and waterways in the area since the flood. There have been no other reports of missing people.

Hermond, 39, served in the Air Force for ten years before joining the Maryland National Guard in 2009. According to witnesses, he stepped into harm’s way on Sunday to pull a shopkeeper to safety.

While at a restaurant in Ellicott City, Md., Hermond watched the situation get desperate outside. Joseph Lopez, a friend from his Air Force days, told ABC News that the speed with which the street flooded was incredible. “It happened so fast,” Lopez said. “The main street became a river in less than 20 minutes.”

(RELATED: One Missing After Rain Turns A Maryland Town’s Main Street Into Raging Rapids [VIDEO])

Just down the street, Kate Bowman had escaped with her cat through a window of her pet food store — and was trying to navigate waist-deep floodwaters when she caught sight of Hermond. She said, “I could barely see anything and I could barely hear anything. He stepped over the ledge to try to get to me, and he was washed away. He was trying to save me. He’s a hero.”