Williams Singavarapu found dead after overnight Flagstaff flood search

What happened between a reported fall into Flagstaff’s fast-moving floodwater and the discovery of Williams Singavarapu’s body less than a mile away? The overnight search has ended, but investigators have not yet established a full account of those hours. ²²

Police identified the man as Singavarapu, 73, of New York. Emergency personnel found him dead Monday, November 2, after responding to a report of an unresponsive person near East Ellery Avenue and South W.C. Riles Street. He had been reported missing the previous evening near South Malpais Lane and West Clay Avenue, in the Southside neighborhood south of downtown. ^{4 22}

The recovery resolves the urgent question that drove the police and fire search: whether the missing man would be found. It does not establish exactly how he reached the recovery location, when he died or the final medical cause and manner of his death. The latest verified case-specific status through November 3 remained that he was found deceased and the incident was under investigation. ³⁷

The initial account came from a report to emergency crews, not a publicly released reconstruction by investigators. According to the city, the report described a man losing his footing beside fast-moving water, falling in and disappearing from view. ³⁷

Flagstaff Police Department officers and Flagstaff Fire Department personnel went to South Malpais Lane and West Clay Avenue on Sunday, November 1. The city’s initial release said emergency personnel were searching with all available resources and asked the public to stay away so crews could work safely and without interruption. KNAU’s November 1 account described a missing man whose identity had not been released; its November 2 follow-up reported the fatal recovery and named Singavarapu. ^{37 1 22}

The search continued overnight. At approximately 5:28 a.m. Mountain Standard Time on Monday, responders answered the unresponsive-person report near East Ellery Avenue and South W.C. Riles Street. They determined that the deceased man was the person reported missing the evening before. The city confirmed that outcome in its 10:30 a.m. update. ³⁷

That early-morning timestamp is a response time, not an established time of death. Likewise, the distance between the two locations is not a map of Singavarapu’s movements. KNAU, citing police spokesperson Sgt. Jerry Rintala, reported that he was found less than a mile from where he disappeared. The available accounts do not establish the precise route he traveled. ^{37 22}

There is also an unexplained change in the official dispatch chronology. The city’s first release placed the Sunday response at approximately 5:57 p.m.; its Monday update gave approximately 5:47 p.m. Both times are local Mountain Standard Time. Neither statement explains the ten-minute difference. Both describe the same reported fall, intersection and search—not two separate incidents. ³⁷

The revised time should be acknowledged without making it carry more weight than the evidence allows. It leaves a small but specific gap in the public record; it does not change the confirmed outcome. More consequentially, the city’s recovery update does not announce a final medical cause or manner of death. Calling this a confirmed drowning would go beyond what that statement establishes. ³⁷

The search unfolded while flooding was already stretching Flagstaff’s emergency services. On Sunday, city officials said public-safety teams were operating at capacity. Flooding affected much of the Southside neighborhood as well as major roads, including Route 66, South Milton Road and Butler Avenue. Officials urged residents to stay home and avoid travel. ¹

Those warnings had an immediate practical purpose: keeping people out of danger and preserving emergency resources while police and firefighters were already responding to widespread flooding. The request to avoid the search area was similarly about allowing crews to work without interruption, not an invitation for residents to join the search. ^{1 37}

The city also warned that floodwater can be deeper and faster than it appears, and that as little as six inches of moving water can knock an adult off their feet. That is general safety guidance, not a measurement of the water where Singavarapu reportedly fell. The warning extended beyond driving through flooded roads: residents were advised not to walk, drive or play in or near flowing water. ³⁷

Investigators are seeking information from anyone who witnessed the incident or can help explain its circumstances. The city listed Flagstaff Police at 928-774-1414 and Silent Witness at 928-774-6111. The recovery ended the search for Singavarapu; that request for witnesses makes clear that the work of explaining his death is not finished. ³⁷