2 campers presumed dead found alive after West Virginia floods

West Virginia State Trooper C.S. Hartman, walks from a shed that he checked out as he and other crews search homes in Rainelle, W. Va., Saturday, June 25, 2016. Heavy rains that pummeled West Virginia left multiple people dead, and authorities said Saturday that an unknown number of people in the hardest-hit county remained unaccounted for. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
West Virginia State Trooper C.S. Hartman, walks from a shed that he checked out as he and other crews search homes in Rainelle, W. Va., Saturday, June 25, 2016. Heavy rains that pummeled West Virginia left multiple people dead, and authorities said Saturday that an unknown number of people in the hardest-hit county remained unaccounted for. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

ANSTED, W.Va. — Two men who were presumed dead when a camper was swept away in rushing waters during the West Virginia floods have been found alive, officials said Monday as more rain fell on already-soaked parts of the state.

The discovery of the men lowers the death toll to 23, officials said. That number includes 20 bodies found and three people who are missing and presumed dead.

The men were either camping or getting ready to set up camp when the rain started last Thursday, said Timothy Rock, spokesman for West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

The left all of their gear and their truck at the camp site in the Blue Bend area of the Monongahela National Forest in Greenbrier County, the hardest-hit area, and caught a ride out with another party.

"I think the first responders must have reported them missing and that got into them being just presumed dead. Then they wound up turning up yesterday," Rock said.

Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan Cahill said the men just left their belongings at the campground and went home. Cahill also said the men were never on his office's presumed dead list.

The men were from the Bluefield area — about a two-hour drive from the campsite. Rock and Cahill did not know their names.

The National Weather Service warned downpours Monday could bring a half-inch of rain or more in some areas ravaged by flooding, including Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas counties.

Early indications are that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of homes have been damaged or destroyed. The only county to give an updated number to state officials was Roane County, which reported 500 properties damaged. Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are taking stock of the disaster, and National Guard crews were removing debris.

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