Boy found alive after going missing in Peoria creek

PEORIA — Peoria police say a teenager has been found alive and safe after being swept away in a creek swollen by heavy rains.

Authorities say 15-year-old Demarcus Jackson was swimming Sunday in the creek when he was pulled downstream by strong currents. Two residents on Monday morning had climbed down into a drainage ditch, searching for the teen and eventually found him in a tunnel beneath Interstate 74.

Police say the teenager had spent the night clinging to a tree branch. They say he had some cuts but was able to walk on his own.

Vermilion County Airport in east central Illinois reported around 8.2 inches of rain from the Sunday night storms. The Illinois State Water Survey reported 2.4 inches of rain in Champaign.