Determined seek for younger siblings swept away in Pennsylvania flash flood

The seek for a 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister continued in Pennsylvania Tuesday — days after they had been swept away in a violent flash flood that killed their mom and 4 others.

Police in Makefield Township in Bucks County recognized the lacking youngsters as Matilda “Mattie” Sheils and Conrad Sheils.

Their mom, 32-year-old Katie Sealy, was amongst 5 individuals who had been killed within the relentless flooding.

The 2 youngsters, who’re initially from South Carolina, had been visiting household once they obtained caught within the rising floodwaters whereas on their technique to a barbecue, hearth chief Tim Brewer mentioned.

“Numerous” folks have supplied to assist with search efforts however “at the moment, we aren’t recruiting any volunteers from the group,” Higher Makefield Township police mentioned in a Facebook post.

The kids’s father, Jim, Katie’s mom Dahlia, and Jim’s oldest son, Jack, all survived after being swept away within the speedy flood waters, based on a GoFundMe arrange by Jim’s sister.

The kids’s grandmother was handled at an area hospital, police mentioned.

“As they tried to flee the fierce floodwaters, dad took his 4-year-old son whereas the mom and the grandmother grabbed the 2 extra youngsters, aged 9 months and a couple of years,” Brewer mentioned over the weekend.

About 150 folks combed by way of the creek in a single day and 100 others took half within the seek for the lacking youngsters on Sunday.

“With these 5 deaths, this can be a mass casualty incident the likes of which we’ve got not seen earlier than,” the native police division wrote on Facebook. “This has been unbelievably devastating to all of the households concerned, all of our first responders, and to our group as an entire.”

Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, was walloped by about 7 inches of rain in 45 minutes on Saturday.

The opposite flood victims had been recognized on Monday as Susan Barnhart, 53, Yuko Love, 64, Linda Depiero, 74, and Enzo Depiero, 78.

Bucks County coroner Meredith Buck informed WHYY that the reason for dying for all 5 victims was unintended drowning.