LEGGETT, Calif. (AP) – The Latest on the search for a family whose vehicle plunged into Northern California river (all times local):
10:50 a.m.
Officials in Northern California say crews found a vehicle that plunged into a rain-swollen Northern California river after noticing a gasoline smell.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that a boating team searching the Eel River noticed the fuel odor about half a mile (1 kilometer) downstream from where the crash was reported.
Searchers found the car Sunday and recovered the bodies of 41-year-old Sandeep Thottapilly and 9-year-old Saachi Thottapilly. The body of 38-year-old Soumya Thottapilly was found Friday.
The couple’s 12-year-old son, Sidhhanty Thottapilly, remains missing.
The office says 70 searchers combed the area, including more than 20 crew members searching the water in Jet Skis, boats and kayaks.
It says the vehicle was encased in sediment but that divers were able to feel a person inside the car.
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9:57 a.m.
Authorities searching for a family whose SUV plunged into a rain-swollen Northern California river have found the vehicle and the body of a man and a girl inside it.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that searchers located the car Sunday and recovered the bodies of 41-year-old Sandeep Thottapilly and 9-year-old Saachi Thottapilly.
The office also said the body of an adult female found in the Eel River on Friday has been identified as 38-year-old Soumya Thottapilly. The couple’s 12-year-old son, Sidhhanty Thottapilly remains missing.
The four members of the Thottapilly family went missing while traveling from Portland, Oregon, to their home in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita.
They were reported missing April 8 after failing to show up for a visit with relatives in San Jose.
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