Baytown Firefighters Rescue Teen Swept Downstream in Cedar Bayou

BAYTOWN, Texas — Baytown Police Department and Baytown Fire Department crews safely rescued a 13-year-old girl Wednesday afternoon after she was swept downstream in Cedar Bayou.

According to police, officers responded around 4:15 p.m. on May 20, 2026, to the 7800 block of Brooks Crossing Drive following reports of a missing child in the water.

Preliminary information indicates the teen and her 11-year-old brother were playing on a flotation device in the Cedar Bayou River when the girl became separated and was carried downstream by the current.

Police said the boy returned to shore and alerted his mother, who immediately called 911.

Emergency crews quickly launched a search operation in the area where the children were last seen.

During the search, officers located the girl approximately half a mile downstream in the Lynwood area, where she was clinging to a tree in the bayou.

Authorities said the closest engine company responded with life vests and throw ropes while additional crews launched a fireboat and rescue boat farther downstream.

After firefighters reached the girl and guided her to dry ground, rescue crews transported her by boat back to her family waiting at a nearby dock.

Officials said the teen was not injured and was later evaluated by medical personnel before being reunited with her family.

Police and fire officials reminded the public that moving water can be extremely dangerous, even when conditions appear calm or shallow.

Authorities urged parents to closely supervise children near rivers, bayous, and natural waterways and warned that flotation devices should not be relied upon in moving water conditions.