Amid Harvey rescues, Houston officer's body recovered

Houston (CNN)Exhausted and drenched in filthy floodwater, weary emergency workers and volunteers scrambled to save the latest wave of Tropical Storm Harvey's victims amid word that a veteran Houston police sergeant drowned on his way to work.

Sgt. Steve Perez's body was recovered early Tuesday.

Perez, 60, left for work in the dark about 4 a.m. Sunday and "spent about 2½ hours driving around trying to get to his duty station," police Chief Art Acevedo said. The 34-year police veteran drove on an underpass

On Monday, officials narrowed the location to one area. The Cajun Navy, a Louisiana-based volunteer rescue force that gained fame in Hurricane Katrina, helped look for Perez, Acevedo said, tearing up.

"Once our dive team got there, it was too treacherous to go under and look for him, Acevedo said. "So, we made a decision to leave officers there waiting until the morning, because as much as we wanted to recover him last night, we could not put more officers at risk."

"For we knew in our hearts it was going to be a recovery mission," Acevedo said

Local officials in Texas have confirmed at least nine Harvey-related deaths. An undetermined number of people are missing, including six family members whose vehicle was swept away in the floods Sunday in northeast Houston.

With another landfall expected, the devastation and misery could intensify

News Courtesy: www.cnn.com