Police and other law enforcement agencies in Orange County, including heavy rescue personnel, responded in force Wednesday to the San Diego Creek near UC Irvine in response to the report of a missing person.

Loud, low-flying sheriff’s helicopters hovered over the area near the intersection of Harvard and University, which is close to the Rancho San Joaquin Golf Course, for much of the early afternoon. OC Fire Authority crews, and police and sheriff’s rescue vehicles, could be seen parked on the banks of the creek, as curious onlookers watched a crew of about a dozen rescue workers positioned in the creek’s flowing water, near an inflatable boat.

Record-breaking recent storms have swollen the normally placid creek, which usually is almost completely dry, into a muddy, fast-moving body of water that would be dangerous for anyone to enter.

Orange County fire and sheriff’s personnel on the scene at San Diego Creek in Irvine on Wwednesday afternoon amid a major law enforcement response. (Photo by Mark Evans, OC Register/SCNG)

Earlier Wednesday, there were reports of a person who went missing late Tuesday near a gym that’s at the corner of Culver and Barranca in Irvine, which also happens to be near the San Diego Creek. An Irvine police community service officer spent the better part of an hour Wednesday around 10 a.m. walking along the banks of the creek in search of the person, and showing passers-by a photo of him.

,As of late Wednesday, there was no word on whether the person that authorities were seeking was found. Additional details were not immediately provided by Irvine police.

#IRVINEPDPIO – The Irvine Police Department and the @OCFireAuthority are looking for a missing person in the San Diego Creek near Harvard and Michelson. There is a significant presence of public safety personnel in the area, and a helicopter is providing support.

— Irvine Police Department (@IrvinePolice) March 22, 2023