# Missing Black National Guardsman Missing After Helping Woman In Flood



## Leeda.the.Paladin (May 29, 2018)

Rescue workers are searching for a National Guardsman who went missing after flash floods swept through Ellicott City, Maryland, on Sunday.

*Interested in Weather?*
Add Weather as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Weather news, video, and analysis from ABC News.
Weather
Add Interest
The missing man, 39-year-old Eddison Hermond of Severn, Maryland, was last seen at about 5:20 p.m. Sunday, Howard County police said.









Courtesy Joseph Lopez
more +









Courtesy Joseph Lopez


Hermond, a member of the Maryland National Guard, was at an Ellicott City restaurant with Joseph Lopez, his friend from the Air Force, when they noticed the parking lot starting to flood because of the heavy rain.

“It happened so fast," Lopez told ABC News. “The main street became a river in less than 20 minutes."

The friends were helping to block the restaurant doors to prevent flooding when one woman with a cat carrier wanted to leave, Lopez said.








David McFadden/AP
more +









Kenneth K. Lam/The Baltimore Sun via AP
more +









Kenneth K. Lam/The Baltimore Sun via AP


Hermond was helping her when he lost his balance and was swept away into a river and under a bridge, Lopez said.

Hermond, who was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, hasn't been seen since, Lopez said.

“Eddison is a great swimmer so I'm hopeful that he will be OK," Lopez said.








Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE via REX/Shutterstock
more +









Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE via REX/Shutterstock
more +


First responders stressed this afternoon that the search to find Hermond is still a rescue mission, not a recovery mission.

His aunt, Deborah Nina Cooper, asked for privacy on behalf of the family but thanked well-wishers for their support.

"We are still working with government agencies as we remain hopeful that he will be found safe," Cooper said. "Please continue to keep Eddison in your prayers."

The governor of Maryland declared a state of emergency in the wake of the flash flooding in the historic mill town and other areas Sunday. Ellicott City saw 8.4 inches of rain in just a few hours. Nearby Catonsville, Maryland, saw over 10 inches of rain.

Howard County County Executive Allan Kittleman this morning called the flooding worse than the one that hit Ellicott City in 2016, killing two people and causing millions of dollars of damage.

“My heart's broken when I walk through the town and see it,” Kittleman told "Good Morning America." "All I'm thinking about is the folks whose lives have been devastated for a second time in two years."















(MORE: Flash floods turn Maryland town's Main Street into raging muddy river)


“We are heartbroken to see the devastation that occurred yesterday," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement today. “State agencies have been working around the clock to coordinate resources, begin assessing damages, and clean up debris, mud, and damaged infrastructure.”

There were about 30 water rescues and 250 to 300 people were helped out of buildings amid the flash flooding, officials said.

Cheryl Nitz came to Ellicott City for a trip with her family Sunday when "it started raining ... and all of a sudden it just started raining harder and harder," she told ABC News. "Then we noticed the water was coming up over the curbs. Then all of a sudden the water was actually running down the middle of the street."

Nitz and her family raced up to higher ground to their car.








Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE via REX/Shutterstock
more +


"We were able to get the car out of the parking spot and we moved toward Main Street," she said, but "there were other cars stuck in the way. We couldn't move."

The water rose so rapidly that her family had to be rescued from their car, she added.

"It rose so quickly probably within 5 or 10 minutes it just started to kind of cover the road... it was rushing," she said. "It was unbelievable."





Andrew Kolozsvary of New Hampshire was also visiting Ellicott City, enjoying a Sunday drive, when it started "raining pretty hard, so we decided to park the truck in front of the county welcome center," he told ABC News. "The water came and it came fast."

While in the truck, the quickly rising water was "inching the car along," he said.

After his rescue, the truck ended up washed down the street.

"I was glad to get out of it," he said. "The second deluge was the really bad one -- that took the truck."





Amber Twait was in Ellicott City as a band member for her friend's wedding Sunday when the venue flooded.

The couple ended up getting married at a nearby Mexican restaurant that was on higher ground, she told ABC News.

Eventually, Twait added, the restaurant started to flood as well, but not before they finished the ceremony.

"Obviously not ideal, but they were still able to say they're married at the end of the day," she said.

"It was a little scary, just because the lights were flickering but it was just really sweet and they both had such a good attitude about it," Twait added. "Hell or high water, they still were going to get married."


----------



## bellatiamarie (May 29, 2018)

Oh no!!! Praying for him!!  I hate to hear this....



So the woman with the cat carrier was trying to leave the restaurant in a quickly escalating flooding situation... hmmm 

And this gentleman went out to help her and he was swept away by rushing water.

Ok I’m going to stop here because I’m going to get upset about this.

I sure hope they find him alive.


----------



## SoniT (May 29, 2018)

I hope that he is found safe. The flooding in Ellicott City was terrible.


----------



## MizAvalon (May 29, 2018)

I really hope they find him. His face has been all over my social media, people are really spreading the word, thank goodness.


----------



## nysister (May 29, 2018)

I'd read about this but didn't know he was Black. Sigh. There are times when you shouldn't be a hero.


----------



## MizAvalon (May 29, 2018)

Unfortunately, the police department has found an unidentified body. It's most likely this man since as far as I know no one else has been reported missing.

So, so sad.


----------



## Leeda.the.Paladin (May 29, 2018)

MizAvalon said:


> Unfortunately, the police department has found an unidentified body. It's most likely this man since as far as I know no one else has been reported missing.
> 
> So, so sad.


I doubted that he was alive. It doesn’t matter how good of a swimmer you are in flood waters


----------



## RossBoss (May 29, 2018)

It's been confirmed that it was him. I have been to Ellicott City numerous times. It's a quaint historic city and we always had a good time...it is hard to imagine the streets suddenly becoming a river but obviously that is what happens there.


----------



## RossBoss (May 29, 2018)

bellatiamarie said:


> Oh no!!! Praying for him!!  I hate to hear this....
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I saw her being interviewed and she is just as scatterbrained and clueless as her stupid actions prove her to be.


----------



## SoniT (May 29, 2018)

Rest in peace Eddison Hermond.


----------



## bellatiamarie (May 29, 2018)

RossBoss said:


> I saw her being interviewed and she is just as scatterbrained and clueless as her stupid actions prove her to be.



Figures.  I knew when I read that she was carrying a cat carrier in a restaurant and trying to leave during a flood that she was 1. of the Caucasian persuasion  and 2. a ding bat.

This is horrible. I’m so upset this man lost his life to save hers.  I’m praying for his family.


----------



## nysister (May 29, 2018)

RossBoss said:


> I saw her being interviewed and she is just as scatterbrained and clueless as her stupid actions prove her to be.



Do you have a link?

I thought the same thing @bellatiamarie 
I really wish Black men would pick and choose who they help and when. 

No one wants to go like that. Tragic.

He died for an idiot's cat. An idiot who will get another one tomorrow. And this is coming from an animal lover that would do almost anything for her dogs.


----------



## GinnyP (May 29, 2018)

So sad!


----------



## RossBoss (May 29, 2018)

nysister said:


> Do you have a link?
> 
> I thought the same thing @bellatiamarie
> I really wish Black men would pick and choose who they help and when.
> ...



No, sorry, I saw her being interviewed on The Weather Channel, not online. Older white woman with dark hair and looked ditzy as hayle.


----------



## RossBoss (May 29, 2018)

bellatiamarie said:


> Figures.  I knew when I read that she was carrying a cat carrier in a restaurant and trying to leave during a flood that she was 1. of the Caucasian persuasion  and 2. a ding bat.
> 
> This is horrible. I’m so upset this man lost his life to save hers.  I’m praying for his family.



I know people on the interwebs are saying he died for a cat, but I really want to think he looked at it as helping an older lady and not so much about the cat. It looks as though it was an older woman who just so happened to be carrying a cat carrier, so I'm sure his efforts were on helping her and the cat was just a lucky beneficiary of his heroic actions.


----------



## onyxdreams (May 29, 2018)

nysister said:


> Do you have a link?
> 
> I thought the same thing @bellatiamarie
> I really wish Black men would pick and choose who they help and when.
> ...



 Thank you, for expressing my thoughts! What a shame!


----------



## Alta Angel (May 29, 2018)

But isn't that what he did?  He lost his precious life, trying to save the life of a CAT.  As another poster said, she will have a new cat tomorrow and probably name it after Mr. Hermond.  

A friend of my mom was in a fatal crash that claimed the life of his wife and child plus one person in the other car.  He had swerved to avoid hitting a dog and drove into an oncoming lane of traffic.  My father told me if I was in that situation to run over the fricking dog and live.  



RossBoss said:


> *I know people on the interwebs are saying he died for a cat*, but I really want to think he looked at it as helping an older lady and not so much about the cat. It looks as though it was an older woman who just so happened to be carrying a cat carrier, so I'm sure his efforts were on helping her and the cat was just a lucky beneficiary of his heroic actions.


----------



## Leeda.the.Paladin (May 29, 2018)

Alta Angel said:


> He had swerved to avoid hitting a dog and drove into an oncoming lane of traffic. My father told me if I was in that situation to run over the fricking dog and live.


It’s easy to say this but when you are driving and the animal hops out in front of you, it’s hard not to instinctively swerve. 

That’s sad about your mom’s friend


----------



## Alta Angel (May 29, 2018)

The nugget I took out of the story was not to put the life of an animal above human life.



Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> It’s easy to say this but when you are driving and the animal hops out in front of you, it’s hard not to instinctively swerve.
> 
> That’s sad about your mom’s friend


----------



## RossBoss (May 29, 2018)

Alta Angel said:


> But isn't that what he did?  He lost his precious life, trying to save the life of a CAT.  As another poster said, she will have a new cat tomorrow and probably name it after Mr. Hermond.
> 
> A friend of my mom was in a fatal crash that claimed the life of his wife and child plus one person in the other car.  He had swerved to avoid hitting a dog and drove into an oncoming lane of traffic.  My father told me if I was in that situation to run over the fricking dog and live.



TBH, the police, the woman and Mr. Hermond's friend told their versions of what happened and they all had slight variations. The constant theme in all the versions was that the woman was trying to escape with her cat.


----------



## Ms. Tarabotti (May 29, 2018)

Where was she going that she couldn't wait until things calmed down a bit?  Was she planning on driving  through  the flood?


----------



## Leeda.the.Paladin (May 29, 2018)

Alta Angel said:


> The nugget I took out of the story was not to put the life of an animal above human life.


I totally agree but my point is that it’s hard to think rationally in thatsplit second. When I swerve, it’s not to protect the animal, it’s to protect myself.  I’m just pointing out that it’s an unconscious decision for some. Your daddy was absolutely correct tho


----------



## MizAvalon (May 29, 2018)

A GoFund Me has been set up in case anyone is interested in donating.

https://www.gofundme.com/hj9tt-support-for-eddison-hermond?member=239498


----------

