Crews perform water rescue of dozens stranded at Oxford beach during flash flooding

THE LATEST: Oxford birthday party becomes rescue mission

OXFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Roughly 60 people were rescued at Jackson’s Cove Sunday night after flash flooding destroyed parts of the town and left them stranded at the beach.

Shelia Borino said the group was using the town beach’s pavilion for her 2-year-old daughter’s birthday party.

But instead of continuing the celebration, they had to be evacuated on boats.

Borino said the road getting in and out of Jackson’s Cove washed out around 2 p.m., leaving them stranded.

“We had three infants under 4-months-old with limited formula and a diabetic without insulin in attendance,” Borino said.

State police told them to shelter-in-place, with no timeline for rescue. It was around 10 p.m. the United States Army Reserve arrived at the cove by water.

At that point, Borino said the lifeguards had left hours earlier by hiking the washed out and “treacherous” trails.

The last group was rescued around 12:30 a.m. They were all bused to the Red Cross evacuation center at the Southbury Senior Center, according to Borino.

Old World Pizza of North Haven also had a truck there for the party, which ended up getting stuck with them, one partygoer told News 8.

People all over Oxford and the surrounding region were stranded due to the same flash flooding.

Across town, 19 people were rescued from Brookside Inn Restaurant and the next door apartment. A firetruck used its ladder at full length to move people to safety.

In another part of town, about 125 people sought shelter in Market 32, a grocery store at the top of the hill that provided safety from the dangerous flooding on Route 67 below.

The town also lost two residents , 65-year-old Ethelyn Joiner and 71-year-old Audrey Rostkowski, after they were swept away by floodwaters.

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