Deputy missing in Texas after patrol car swept away in heavy rain

(Reuters) - Rescue workers were searching on Thursday for a sheriff's deputy whose patrol car was washed downstream at a low water crossing during heavy rains in Austin, Texas, authorities said. The seven-year veteran of the Travis County Sheriff's Office was last heard from at about 2 a.m. when she radioed that her car was being swept away by rushing flood waters, according to department spokesman Roger Wade. By the time rescuers arrived at the scene near the Mansfield Dam on the Colorado River in northwest Austin, her car was already downstream and underwater, he said. "We are holding out all hope that she is sitting on the river bank waiting for us to pick her up," Wade said. The deputy, who has not been identified, was checking low water crossings south of the dam when she went missing, according to Wade. About 4 inches of rain fell in the area on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. A flash flood watch remained in effect on Thursday evening as more rain was expected in the area overnight, the service said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien on Milwaukee; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)