Excellent article with pictures of the recovery effort, and details about the witnesses. As the CHP officer told them, if they hadnt seen and reported the accident, no one would have known.
[FONT=&]Pat Berkowitz caught just a glimpse before the vehicle that had been pulling over in front of the car he was riding in tipped sideways, thrust two wheels into the air, and tumbled over the bank and out of sight on Friday, April 5 north of Leggett. Frantically, he called 911 as his wife pulled their car into the next pullout.[/FONT][FONT=&]In terror, he said, he ran back up the road and followed the vehicle over the bank to where he could see the Eel River. There was nothing, the 67-year-old said, but oil spreading over the surface of the water.
Section of Eel River where vehicle is believed to have gone in. Photo by Mark McKenna.[/FONT]
http://kymkemp.com/2018/04/11/witne...of-leggett-searchers-scour-the-river-tuesday/
Looking at photos it's crazy to me that they have not yet found the vehicle.
It's seems so shallow.
The person who saw the vehicle go into the river “reported that they saw a car pulling over,” he explained. “[The driver] went too far over. They tried to stop but they didn’t stop in enough time.”
LEGGETT (CBS SF) — Teams searching the area where a SUV was seen careening into the murky, swollen waters of the Eel River in rural Mendocino County may have located parts of a missing Southern California family’s vehicle, authorities said Wednesday.
Sandeep Thottapilly, his wife and children have not been heard from since late last week when they were in Klamath-Redwood National Park area in Northern California. They had been on a Spring Break road trip, traveling home on Highway 101 from Portland to Santa Clarita.
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/04/11/chp-missing-familys-suv-parts-eel-river/An intense search of the river was launched by at least half a dozen law enforcement entities including at least one CHP helicopter. Crews up on steep bluffs with 100-plus foot drops from road to water assisted crews along the river bed looking for the SUV.
On Wednesday, Wunderlich said search crews had found what they believe to be parts of the SUV along the river bank. They believe the vehicle may have been heavily damaged as it bounced off trees before entering the river.
Rain and even hail was again falling in the area on Wednesday, slowing the progress of the search. Wunderlich said no sign of Sandeep or his wife, Soumya, or the children — 12-year-old Siddhant and 9-year-old Saachi — have been found.
By early evening, weather conditions had led authorities to suspend their search on the Eel River for the day.
Latest update http://kymkemp.com/2018/04/12/relat...identify-items-found-at-eel-river-crash-site/ Summary of the link: Some of the Thottapilly family has identified items found near the possible crash site as belonging to the missing family members. Search continues for the family and their vehicle. The river level was still elevated due to another storm in the area.
The family expressed that they wanted to see the accident site. While there, searchers located multiple items in the river. Sandeep Thottapilly’s brother recognized a cap belonging to his missing sibling. His cousin recognized little Saachi’s sweater.
an incoming storm forced the searches actually on the river itself to shut down until Friday
On 4/10 and again on 4/11/2018 it was determined the water levels would allow the insertion of Swift Water Rescue Teams to conduct a bank search as well as some limited “probing”, a technique using a long pole being probed underwater to see if the vehicle or anything metallic could be located.
bbmThe teams were unsuccessful in locating the vehicle or any occupants from the vehicle. They were able to locate numerous items that appeared to have come from a vehicle body and interior. Some of these items were consistent with a Honda vehicle. Also located were various personal items that were consistent with a family traveling on vacation. Several items have been positively identified, by family members, as belonging to the Thottapilly family. These items were of a personal nature and will not be described further at this time, but it does confirm the fact the vehicle that was seen going into the river was that of the Thottapilly family.
bbmA joint Press Conference of the California Highway Patrol and the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office will be held at the Leggett Cal FIRE Station, 69310 North Highway 101 Leggett, at noon on 4/13/2018 to answer any press related questions related to this investigation.
Thank you mysterian,
From the link:
They already searched 12 miles of the river bank and still no car!
Also:
From the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office statement:
bbm
bbm
A joint Press Conference of the California Highway Patrol and the Mendocino County Sheriffs Office will be held at the Leggett Cal FIRE Station, 69310 North Highway 101 Leggett, at noon on 4/13/2018 to answer any press related questions related to this investigation.
The child's body was found this morning about 7 miles south of where the crash happened, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said at a news conference. Allman did not say which of the two children was found.
The parents and the other child remain missing. Crews have recovered car parts and some of their belongings, authorities said.
Here's another article about the child's body. http://kymkemp.com/2018/04/13/searchers-found-body-of-one-child-from-missing/Child's body found week after family's car plunged into riverhttp://abcnews.go.com/US/childs-body-found-week-familys-car-plunged-river/story?id=54441874
Here's another article about the child's body. http://kymkemp.com/2018/04/13/searchers-found-body-of-one-child-from-missing/
That's possible. The witness that saw the vehicle pull over and then disappear stated that driving conditions were bad in this article: http://kymkemp.com/2018/04/11/witne...ett-searchers-scour-the-river-tuesday/There's also an interesting comment that was made April 12 @ 7:21 p.m.Maybe they pulled off the road because it was raining so hard.I wonder why they pulled over? It was raining, so probably not to look at the scenery. Maybe to look at a map?