Members of the Las Cruces Fire Department’s Swiftwater Rescue Team joined several emergency response crews to help save the driver of a pickup that was swept down an arroyo by floodwaters and submerged in the Rio Grande Monday about 25 miles north of Las Cruces.
Shortly before 6 p.m. Monday, June 30, 2025, after heavy rain on the mesa northwest of Rincon Valley, about 25 miles north of Las Cruces, Central Dispatch received a call from the driver of a pickup that was swept away by floodwater that crossed Highway 185, also known as north Valley Drive, where Bignell Arroyo crosses the road.
The adult driver told Central Dispatch his truck was swept into the Rio Grande, about half a mile from where he attempted crossing the Bignell Arroyo, and that he was trapped on the roof of his vehicle.
First responders from Las Cruces, Dona Ana County, Hatch, Sierra County, New Mexico State Police and Border Patrol responded to the call. Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue also responded with a team of personnel, off-road vehicles and a rescue boat.
Members of LCFD’s Swiftwater Rescue Team and two members of Dona Ana Fire Rescue approached the area from the south and headed upstream, up the Rio Grande, in anticipation of the victim being carried downstream by the river. Other rescue teams entered the river near Bignell Arroyo but were delayed until Highway 185 was passable.
During the rescue attempt two first responders and the victim’s son, who was traveling in a separate vehicle and tried to rescue his dad in the river, were caught in debris and had to be rescued.
About two hours after the initial call for help, rescue teams and Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue were able to reach the initial victim, his son and the two first responders by boat. All of them were located trapped in a pile of debris in the Rio Grande.
No injuries were reported, and no one was transported for medical needs.
The pickup remains submerged in the river and will have to be removed.
The Las Cruces Fire Department wishes to use this incident as a reminder to motorists to refrain from crossing running water on roadways. The motto, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown,” should be observed when approaching running water on a roadway.
