Heavy Rain — Cabell, West Virginia

1997-07-09 · near Barboursville, Cabell, West Virginia

Event narrative

A 12 year old boy was sucked into a 14 inch diameter drain pipe and drowned. He was playing in a neighbor's yard with 2 other boys, after a heavy downpour. The pipe was normally covered, but had been left opened during the construction of a nearby home. Apparently. the 5 foot 4 inch, 110 pound boy slipped and fell into the ditch. Firefighters recovered the boy's body about 2 hours later, some 60 feet into the pipe. The Cabell County Sheriff said, " I've seen a lot of things, but this was the toughest".

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5606575. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.