Owen Jones
© Indiana Department of Natural ResourcesAn undated photo of Owen Jones, 4, who was swept away in a creek in Delphi, Ind.on May 23, 2019.
A desperate search is underway by boat, sonar and drone for a 4-year-old boy who was swept away in a flooded creek in Indiana on Thursday, officials said.

The search for Owen Jones was shifting to a recovery effort mid-day Friday, Lt. Dan Dulin of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources told ABC News.

Owen was playing near Deer Creek in Riley Park in Delphi when a witness saw him struggling in the water around 6 p.m. before being swept away, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

The 4 year-old, who is from the Monticello area, was last seen wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and blue shorts, said officials.

The Department of Natural Resources is urging the public not to help with the search because of "the dangerous elevated water levels and current."

Delphi, a small, tight-knit community of nearly 3,000 people, is also the site of the unsolved 2017 double murder of eighth graders Abby Williams and Libby German.