Witness saw missing man swept up in flood

ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — A man missing on Memorial Day after floodwaters ravaged a historic Maryland county seat is a US Air Force veteran, as well as a current member of the Maryland Army National Guard.

Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner says witnesses saw the man go under the water Sunday evening, and he did not surface.

Police earlier identified him as 39-year-old Eddison Hermond of Severn.

Gardner said that the missing National Guard member and US Air Force veteran had been with a group at the La Palapa Grill & Cantina. He says Hermond was trying to help by holding a door open as water rushed in the building when a woman approached and said she was trying to find her pet.

Simon Cortes, who owns the restaurant, says Hermond is "a super nice guy," who was always out in the community showing support when it worked to rebuild from flooding less than two years ago.

Lt. Col. Charles Kohler, a spokesman for the guard, says Hermond is a sergeant assigned to the training department at the Camp Frettard Military Reservation in Reisterstown. He says Hermond was not on duty Sunday evening and had not had guard training during the weekend.

He says Hermond spent more than 10 years on active duty in the Air Force, starting in 1996. After a break in military service, he joined the Maryland National Guard in 2009.

Kohler says the thoughts and prayers of his fellow guard members are with Hermond and his family.