Franklin County officials reported the death of a missing Kentucky man who was last seen tubing on Elkhorn Creek in the county on Monday. According to Capt. Daniel Wills of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Winchester resident Michael Looby, 25, was reported missing on Saturday when he and four other people were dragged into choppy water while floating in tubes on Elkhorn Creek. Looby never emerged again, while the other four returned to shore without incident.
“Looby was declared dead at 1:31 p.m. Monday,” Franklin County Coroner Will Harrod said. Tuesday is Looby’s planned autopsy date. As soon as Looby vanished on Saturday, a search was launched, but the first several days of the search were hampered by the choppy water. According to Wills, the rain on Friday made search circumstances challenging, and the creek rose four feet more on Saturday and Sunday.
Elkhorn Creek in Frankfort climbed from roughly five to nine feet between 6:30 a.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Since then, the creek has been gradually retreating, and as of Tuesday morning, it was slightly under 5 1/2 feet. When the search resumed Monday, officials were able to deploy sonar equipment and boats, Wills said. Near his last sighting, Looby was discovered in a tree-covered area.
According to Wills, the search was aided by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, the Lexington Fire Department, and the Franklin County Fire Department.
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