Inside the harrowing search: AI and sonar used to find flood victims in Texas

The search for victims of a devastating flood in Kerr County, Texas, has entered a critical phase.

Crews with GulfSAR are traveling by boat along the Guadalupe River, using artificial intelligence to scan beneath the surface for signs of human remains.

More than 170 people remain missing, a week after the river surged about 25 feet in just two hours.

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Search teams are concentrating on massive piles of debris, which may be hiding the bodies of those still unaccounted for.

“We got approved to search this dam, and we wanted to scan it with sonar. The sonar that we are using is called AquaEye. It’s an active handheld sonar device that uses AI targeting technology to help find and recover victims of drownings,” said Cody Gould.

“When it's scanning, what it will do — it will send a sonar cone out, it will come back. AI interprets it and lets you know if there is a possibility of a body, or if there is a body,” Gould said.

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During the search, Gould received a sonar hit that indicated a potential body in the water. Scuba divers attempted to investigate, but an incoming storm forced them out of the river before they could confirm if a body was in the water.

“People really don’t understand the gravity of this situation,” Gould said. “I’ve never been on anything this bad. I’ve searched for bodies and stuff, but nothing like this.”