Benny Sutton Jr., 63, was found dead Friday morning by Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Lake Patrol teams, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.

Sutton, who worked at the resort in Morristown, went missing Sunday night. His vehicle was discovered submerged in a wash about 2 miles south of the resort around 11 p.m. A Maricopa County Sheriff's Office helicopter crew that had just completed a separate rescue responded and lowered a rescuer onto the roof of the vehicle, but there was no sign of Sutton.

At the peak of the flooding, the waterway was estimated at 200 feet wide and 6 to 8 feet deep. Search efforts were limited to the air until the floodwaters receded Monday. Crews later searched the dry wash on foot and by vehicle down to Lake Pleasant.

The multi-agency operation included the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office Jeep Posse, ground searchers and drone operators; Verde Search and Rescue; Coconino County Search and Rescue; Maricopa County Sheriff's Office swift-water rescue operators, air support and Lake Patrol; the Peoria Police Department air division; and specialty K-9 teams.

"I would like to express our immense gratitude to the many dedicated Yavapai Search and Rescue volunteers and others who spent days tirelessly searching for him," Sheriff Rhodes said in a statement. "We are profoundly grateful to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, Peoria P.D. air division and other partner agencies for their vital assistance throughout this operation."

The sheriff's office also offered its condolences to Sutton's family, friends and coworkers.

The death underscores the dangers of flash flooding in Arizona's desert washes, where water can rise rapidly and without warning even when skies overhead are clear. Emergency officials have long urged motorists never to drive into flooded roadways, noting that shallow-looking water can conceal washed-out pavement and powerful currents.