Man’s body found in Brush Creek after Kansas City police search for fleeing suspect

Angela Cordoba Perez
·1 min read

Kansas City water rescue crews recovered a body in Brush Creek Friday morning while searching for a man who jumped in while fleeing police Thursday evening.

Authorities had responded about 6:30 p.m. Thursday to several calls about a man with a gun causing a disturbance in Eastwood Hills East neighborhood and tried contacting him, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.

Police identified the man Friday afternoon as 38-year-old Terrel L. Murray. Police said Murray was involved in the disturbance calls.

According to police, when Murray saw officers arrive on scene, he immediately started to run towards Brush Creek. An officer who was chasing him on foot saw him jump into the northern end of the creek near Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard and Cleveland Avenue.

Murray began to struggle in the water, Becchina said, and in an attempt to help him an officer removed his equipment to swim after him. The officer was unable to reach the man before he went underwater.

Emergency crews and the the Kansas City Fire Department’s water rescue team began searching for Murray with a boat and a dive team. A KCPD helicopter, K-9 units, fire trucks and police vehicles were also in the area late into the evening.

Becchina said the officers involved wish that Murray had not run away and had stopped to talk with them.