Two young siblings, a 2-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, were found dead May 6 after falling into a San Bernardino County creek, the Yucaipa Police Department announced in a statement.
Deputies from the Yucaipa Station and other agencies arrived at the Thurman Flats Picnic Area at about 4 p.m. that day to help locate the children, according to the statement.
The children had gone missing one hour earlier when they were playing with their mother close to Mill Creek, authorities said. The creek is a tributary of the Santa Ana River.
The girl was swept downstream by the fast-moving current while the mother was attending to her son. When the mother got back from unsuccessfully searching for her missing daughter, her boy had gone missing as well.
The mother asked relatives at the picnic area to help her find her children, the statement said, but they were unsuccessful.
Authorities found the girl first, almost 40 minutes after they arrived at the scene, and the boy was found 20 minutes later.
Both children were close to the river’s edge, authorities said. They were pronounced dead at a local hospital after “extensive life-saving measures” performed on the children were unsuccessful.
No further information on the incident or the identity of the victims has been released.
Anyone with more information can call the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Yucaipa Station at 909-918-2305. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call We-Tip at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or visit www.wetip.com.
