A Memorial Day tragedy was averted late Mnday night and early Tuesday morning as a 17-year-old was pulled from the rain-swollen waters of coal Creek.
The teen had been the subject of a nearly two-hour-long search after he was reported missing about 11 p.m. Monday night from a residence on West Broadway.
He was described as a non-verbal autistic youth that complicated the search with officers driving throughout the area with their searchlights trying to find him.
About midnight police were told that an individual had been seen floating in Coal Creek near Fourth Street. Police, fire and rescue personnel found the teenager clinging to a log just west of the bridge on Lake Road. 
The thick undergrowth and steep embankment made getting to the teenager difficult but they were able to get to him and poull him to safety. He was uninjured but suffering from the effects of an extended time in the waters.
Police say he apparently fell into a stream by his house and was swept downstream then into Coal Creek.