SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA – A devastating incident took the lives of two young children Tuesday, authorities report. The siblings, aged 4 and 2, were playing by a creek near the Thurman Flats Picnic area, near Mill Creek, when they were swallowed up by the waterway.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department stated the children’s mother had taken them to the creek. While supervising her son, her 4-year-old daughter was swept away just after 3:00 p.m. In spite of her frantic search, the mother could not find her daughter. Upon returning to the spot where her son had been, she found the 2-year-old boy had also vanished.
The mother enlisted the assistance of another family in the area in her desperate quest to find her children.
Approximately an hour later, San Bernardino County deputies teamed with firefighters, and US Forest Service Rescue Crew members launched a coordinated search for the siblings.
Both children were eventually found near the river’s edge, roughly 40 minutes apart. The 4-year-old girl was discovered first, and the 2-year-old boy was located shortly after 5:00 p.m.
Emergency medical teams rushed the children to Loma Linda Hospital in severe conditions, firefighters reported. Tragically, both children succumbed to their injuries at the hospital.
Police are currently seeking further information about the incident and urge individuals with any knowledge about it to contact investigators.