Calif. Police Pause Search for 5-Year-Old Boy Who Was Swept Away in Severe Flood
Authorities have paused their search for a 5-year-old boy who was swept away as severe flooding hit the central coast in California.
The child was riding in a vehicle with his mother on the way to school in San Miguel, California, when the car got stuck, his father told KSBY. The incident occurred around 7:45 a.m. local time on Monday, and there were no road closure signs in the area.
Tom Swanson, the assistant chief of the Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department, told the Associated Press that witnesses managed to pull the mother from the vehicle; however, the child was pushed out of the car and began to go downstream. Authorities suspect he headed toward a nearby river.
"We assisted in the search for the child," San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla tells PEOPLE. "We called out the sheriff's dive team to assist with the search and they searched for multiple hours without locating the child."
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He adds that "around 3:00 Pacific time, they discontinued the search because the extreme weather was too unpredictable and it was endangering the first responders' lives. They made the decision to discontinue it. Hopefully there will be a break in the weather and they can resume the search for this child."
Neighbors also stepped in to help find the child, per KSBY. A helicopter arrived at the scene but didn't make any progress due to the weather and debris inside of the water.
Cambria Community Services District Fire Chief Justin Vincent told The Tribune in San Luis Obispo that authorities have only found a child's shoe at the scene.
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Per the outlet, 17 firefighters and a California Highway Patrol helicopter tried to find the child to no avail.
The child, whose identity has not been made public, is a kindergartner at Larsen Elementary School, the San Miguel Joint Union School District's Superintendent, Karen Grandoli, confirmed to The Tribune. His mother is also a teacher in the district.
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"Our staff is heartbroken over this tragedy," she said in an emailed statement to the outlet. "I guess we're still hoping for a miracle but it doesn't look good."
Cal Fire did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
In a post shared on Monday the CHP in Merced, California, warned drivers, "DON'T DRIVE UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST," adding: "We've had to respond to several spin outs and traffic collisions today. If you can postpone your travel during this storm please do so. If you must travel be sure to slow down, avoid sudden movements, use the brakes carefully, and keep a good distance between vehicles."
