As the devastating Hurricane Harvey inundated parts of Houston with floodwaters on Sunday, a 16-year-old girl posted a desperate message online revealing her fear and begging for the storm to pass quickly.
But Devy Saldivar’s plea has gone unanswered, as the high school student, her three siblings and the children’s great-grandparents all presumably drowned after their van was swept by raging currents.
Virginia Saldivar, Devy’s grandmother, said on Monday that the vehicle carrying the teenager, her brothers and sister Dominic, 14; Xavier, 8; and Daisy, 6, as well as their great-grandparents, Manuel, 83, and Belia, 81, sank into Greens Bayiou in East Houston.
Final post: Devy Saldivar, 16 (left), took to Facebook on Sunday, writing that she was anxious about the storm. This was to become her final post before she drowned with her siblings
Devy’s great-grandparents Manuel and Belia Saldivar (pictured), aged 81 and 83, respectively, also drowned. The driver – the children’s great-uncle – survived the accident
The woman said her brother-in-law – the children’s great-uncle – was driving the van Sunday when a strong current swept the vehicle over a bridge and into the bayou.
The driver was able to escape and urged the children to follow him through the back door, Virginia Saldivar said, but they could not.
‘I’m just hoping we find the bodies,’ the grandmother added.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said it could not confirm the deaths as of Tuesday morning.
Speaking to NBC News on Monday, Esmeralda Saldivar, the children’s aunt, revealed that Devy’s mother took a boat to the bayou to try and find the doomed van.
‘She just wants her kids,’ she said.
Virginia Saldivar described the four siblings as ‘the sweetest kids’ who lived across the street from her.
She said Devy, a student at Pasadena High School, loved animals, Starbucks drinks and shopping at thift shops.
‘She was my sunflower, my sunshine,’ Virginia added.
Her brother Xavier loved playing video games and was enthralled with anything related to the US Army.
“Daisy was our princess. She was grandpa’s girl. She loved kittens and dressing up, and watching YouTube videos. Dominic was my heart. He was the most amazing, loving boy. He loved playing his trombone, watching YouTube and playing video games. He loved his family and he would defend them against anything,” Virginia Saldivar said in a statement.
Six members of a family – including Xavier Saldivar (left), 8, and his sister Daisy (right), 6, as well as their siblings and great-grandparents – died in the Hurricane Harvey floods Monday
They had just crossed a bridge in Houston when their van was swept away by strong flood-water currents. Devy (left), 16, and her brother Dominic (right), 14, died
The van ran into trouble van after it crossed a bridge and hit high floodwater on Green River Drive.
The survivor, who has not been identified, managed to grab onto a branch and told the children to climb out of the back door of the van, but they were unable to do so.
Instead, it sunk quickly – taking the family with it.
Witnesses to the incident said that although there were emergency crews in the area, it happened too fast for them to respond.
Belia and Manuel Saldivar (pictured together left) are presumed dead. Daisy, Xavier and Dominic Saldivar (pictured right together), are three of the four children presumed dead after their van sank
The children’s grandmother, Virginia Saldivar, herself narrowly escaped death by drowning Sunday.
‘If anyone has a boat that can come rescue us on Talton St please come,’ she posted on Facebook Sunday. ‘This is getting so scary with the water rising.’
Relative Adriana Saldivar replied: ‘We gave the helicopter people your address they will be looking at roofs and open space.’
A GoFundMe account set up to help the family of the dead children was posted to Virginia Saldivar’s page.