Vigil held for man who reportedly died attempting to drive through floodwaters

RAINBOW VALLEY, Ariz. - A vigil was held on Oct. 19 for a West Valley man lost to floodwaters last weekend.

The backstory:

Vincent Upton was first reported missing around 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 12 after he did not make it home during severe weather. His body was found the following afternoon. 

The area where he went missing, along Waterman's Wash in Rainbow Valley, reportedly received 1.3 inches of rain, but one Maricopa County deputy said the water rushing through the wash was as high as the hood of Upton's truck.

Deputies said the truck likely had so much water pressure around it that Upton couldn't escape. That pressure likely caused the windows and windshield to burst.

Upton's truck was discovered off 214th Avenue without him in it on Sunday.

Big picture view:

Loved ones gathered at Narramore Road and Waterman's Wash, where Upton reportedly tried to drive his truck in the early hours of Oct. 12 but did not make it across. 

The vigil was a continuation of the support shown this entire week for the Upton family, starting from the moment neighbors and community members found out he was missing.

His loved ones remember him as a great father, husband, and friend.

"My dad was just a great man, a great father, and his work ethic will live on forever throughout our family," said Jayden Upton, Vincent Upton's son.

Set against a candlelight backdrop, loved ones of Vincent Upton gathered Sunday night to remember his life. Vincent's oldest child and only son, Jayden, shared a fond memory of fishing with his dad 15 years ago and catching a catfish nearly as big as him.

"I just remember struggling with the catfish and just being like, ‘I can’t do it, I can’t do it, Dad, take the rod away from me,’ and he walked away. He wanted me to get this fish," Jayden Upton recalled.

That hard-working attitude was also evident to his friend and co-worker, Ben Santana.

"He was the kind of guy that he wanted me to show him something and then it was, ‘Don’t touch it, give me another one, give me another one, 'cause I'm gonna learn it.’ He would not stop. He wanted to keep absorbing and learning and growing," Santana said.

Dig deeper:

Vincent died after trying to pass through Waterman’s Wash along Narramore Road during last weekend's severe weather.

Dozens of volunteers—reportedly at least 50 on the initial day he went missing—joined the search, using their own off-road vehicles, personal drones, and horses in an attempt to find Upton. 

According to MCSO, Upton's body was found Oct. 13, a "considerable distance" from where his truck was discovered.

"It was rough, the mud was, it was just everywhere, and a lot of times in the desert the mud turns into this quicksand and so there were points when my horses were down to their stomachs in the sand and we were fighting through certain areas to find him," said Lexus Collins.

Cars lined the road during the search, and again Sunday night, sights not surprising to Vincent's loved ones.

"Anyone who knew him, you know, they remember him. He was definitely memorable. He stuck with you," Santana noted.

"It just really shines a light on the community of Rainbow Valley and how much we really care about each other, even if it's just a neighbor down the road that you don't know about," Jayden Upton said.

Both Ben Santana and Lexus Collins said they hope there is discussion moving forward about installing a bridge in the area where Vincent died in order to help prevent future tragedies.

What you can do:

A GoFundMe was started to help support Upton's family. 

Map of the vigil, and incident, location.

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