Two toddlers perished on May 7 after they were swept away by the swift moving water near the headwaters of the Santa Ana Rivers.
The normally placid and slow-moving stream had been widened and intensified by cascading the spring melting of snowpack in the San Bernardino Mountains.
According to a May 7 informational release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, “On Tuesday, May 6, 2024, at approximately 1:45 P.M., a mother took her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son to spend the afternoon at the Thermun Flats Picnic Area. The mother and her children were playing near the river with rapid water moving downstream. At approximately 3:01 P.M., the mother was attending to her son when her daughter was taken downstream. The mother searched for her but could not locate her. When she returned, her son was missing and assumed to be down river as well. After frantically searching, she hiked up to the picnic area and contacted another family to help search for the children.”
According to the sheriff’s department, the combined efforts “were unsuccessful in locating them.”
According to the department, “At approximately 4:03 P.M., deputies from the Yucaipa Station, Sheriff’s Air Rescue, Mentone Station County Fire personnel, U.S. Forest Service Rescue Crew and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue members assisted in searching for the two missing children. At approximately 4:39 P.M. the 4-year-old was located and at approximately 5:04 P.M. the 2-year-old was located. Both were found near the river’s edge. They were transported to local hospitals, and after extensive life saving measures, they were pronounced deceased.”