A 9-month-old boy is still missing in Pennsylvania after flash floods swept through parts of the state over nine days ago. Police aviation and marine units are focusing their search on a particular stretch of water on the Delaware River, but are awaiting conditions to improve before diving units can access and scour the area.
Tragically, the body of the missing boy's sibling, 2-year-old Matilda "Mattie" Sheils, was recovered from the floodwaters on Friday, bringing the total number of victims recovered to six.
The body of the children's mother, 32-year-old Katie Shiels, was recovered from the deluge soon after the floodwaters struck. Conrad's father and 4-year-old brother managed to escape with their lives.
The family from Charleston, South Carolina, were visiting relatives in Bucks County and were making their way to a barbecue to visit family and friends around 5.30 p.m. when their car was overwhelmed with floodwater on Route 532 Upper Makefield Township, Fire Chief Tim Brewer said at a press conference.
"As they tried to escape the fierce floodwaters, dad took his 4-year-old son while the mother and the grandmother grabbed the two additional children, aged 9 months and 2 years. Miraculously, dad and his son were able to get to safety; however, the grandmother, mother and two children were swept away by the floodwaters," Brewer said. The grandmother survived the ordeal, but the mother sadly did not.
Upper Makefield Township Police Department (UMTPD) released a statement on Facebook Sunday following the recovery of 2-year-old Matilda's body. "After 7 days, Mattie was brought home to her loving family. We are devastated that we have not yet been able to reunite Conrad with his sister and family" the post read.
A massive search operation involving hundreds of people including search and rescue teams, marine units and police and fire personnel are combing the area along the river, using K9s, sonar, drones, boats, divers, heavy equipment, GPS mapping, and air units. Search efforts will continue as conditions allow, the police said.
"We have one section/debris pile left, which is underwater near where Houghs Creek runs into the Delaware River. We will be constantly monitoring the area and when those conditions permit, we will have divers begin that search process".
The powerful storm that inundated Buck's County dumped about a month's worth of rain in two hours, suddenly overwhelming vehicles on Pennsylvania Route 532 and sweeping them away in flash floods.
Newsweek reached out to UMTPD for an update on the search for baby Conrad. "Unfortunately, we do not have any new developments in the search for Conrad Sheils. We continue to hope and pray that we can bring him home soon".
The four other victims of the freak weather event were identified by the Bucks County coroner as Susan Barnhart, 53; Enzo Depiero, 78; Yuko Love, 64; and Linda Depiero, 74.
