WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (AP) — The search for a missing 2-year-old girl and her 9-month-old brother who were swept away from their car during flash flooding over the weekend carried into a fourth day, with officials acknowledging people seeking to volunteer to help but saying they won’t be needed.
Upper Makefield Township police in a social media post Tuesday thanked the countless volunteers who’ve come forward to help but said their assistance isn’t necessary. Some 100 officials, as well as drones and cadaver dogs, combed the area near the creek that drains into the Delaware River.
A news conference has been set for Tuesday afternoon.
Missing are Matilda Sheils, 2, and her 9-month-old brother Conrad Sheils, members of a Charleston, South Carolina, family who were visiting relatives and friends when they got hit by a “wall of water” Saturday, according to Upper Makefield Fire Chief Tim Brewer.
The children’s father, Jim Sheils, grabbed their 4-year-old son, while the children’s mother, Katie Seley, and a grandmother grabbed the other children, Brewer said. Sheils and his son made it to safety, but Seley and the grandmother were swept away. The grandmother survived, but Seley was among the five people who drowned, according to the Bucks County Coroner’s office.
The others who died were Enzo Depiero, 78, and Linda Depiero, 74, of Newtown; Yuko Love, 64, of Newtown; and Susan Barnhart, 53, of Titusville, New Jersey, Bucks County Coroner Meredith Buck said.
The deaths and the search for the children have led to an outpouring of support, particularly in social media posts in the suburb about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Philadelphia. A community vigil for those affected is set for Thursday evening.
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Cover Photo: Yardley Makefield Marine Rescue leaving the Yardley Boat Ramp along N. River Road heading down the Delaware River on Monday morning July 17, 2023, in Yardley, Pa. Search and rescue units are looking for two lost children caught in flood waters Saturday. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
