A toddler and his sister died after being swept down a river while they were playing with their mother, California deputies say.
The mother took her two children, a 2-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl, to spend the afternoon at Thurman Flats Picnic Area on Tuesday, May 7, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
She played with her children “near the river with rapid water moving downstream,” deputies said.
At about 3 p.m., according to deputies, “her daughter was taken downstream” as she attended to her son.
The mother searched for her daughter but couldn’t find her, deputies said.
When she returned, deputies said her son was also missing, having also likely been carried down the river.
The mother “frantically” searched for her children before hiking “up to the picnic area” to ask for help from another family, deputies said.
The group, however, could not find the missing children, according to deputies.
About an hour after the girl was carried down the river, deputies said they, along with multiple other agencies, arrived to look for the children.
The girl was found at about 4:40 p.m., while her brother was found about 25 minutes later, deputies said.
The children, who “were found near the river’s edge,” were taken to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead, deputies said.
Thurman Flats Picnic Area is in Mentone, about a 74-mile drive east from Los Angeles.
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