ELLICOT CITY, MD — A member of the National Guard has gone missing following a flash flood in Ellicott City, government officials said.

Eddison Alexander Hermond, 39, of Severn, was last seen at 5:20 p.m. in a restaurant parking lot in the downtown area, Howard County officials said. He was reported missing by relatives at 12:30 a.m. on Monday. Hermond is an active member of the Army National Guard.

Friends said Hermond was helping to rescue people when he was swept away by the flood waters. Hermond is 6 feet tall, 160 pounds with an athletic build, according to friends. Anyone with any information should call 911.

"A lady approached and indicated she was trying to find her cat, who was missing behind the building lot D. He along with some other folks went back to assist her during that effort. They saw him go under the water and not surface," Howard County police Chief Gary Gardiner said in a Monday press conference, WBAL TV reports.

Gardiner said the other people with Hermond made it out of the floodwaters.

"When I heard what happened, I just knew as soldiers we just react. We don't think, and at that time, he reacted. It wasn't about the water. He knew somebody needed help, and he knew he would be the one to go out there and give it his best," Staff Sgt. Shawn Gates told the media.

Anyone with information about Hermond's whereabouts is asked to call 911.

Nearly 8 inches of rain fell on Ellicott City on Sunday. A state of emergency was declared following the flooding.

"I have no words," Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman said at a press conference Sunday night outside the county courthouse. "I'm devastated. I'm heartbroken."

Kittleman called Sunday's flooding worse than the July 2016 floods.

Rescue teams from across the state converged on Main Street Sunday to save people trapped in buildings in the historic mill town, established in 1772. In the centuries since, it has remained a center of business, with boutiques, restaurants and other shops drawing crowds to the flood-prone downtown district.

Image: Howard County Police Department

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