BUCKS COUNTY, Penn. – Officials suspended search efforts Wednesday for the 9-month-old baby who along with his mother and 2-year-old sister were swept away in violent flash flood waters in Pennsylvania earlier this month.
Conrad Sheils had been missing since July 15 when fast-rising floodwaters carried cars and people away, killing six people near the Delaware River.
“At this point, we have exhausted all means of attempting to locate Conrad. With broken hearts, we regretfully announce that the active search for Conrad has concluded,” Upper Makefield Police announced Wednesday on their Facebook page, where it has regularly updated the public on post-flood search efforts.
The children’s mother, Katie Seley, 32, was confirmed dead a day after. The family was driving to a family outing when the banks of a creek swelled and inundated roadways. Conrad and his sister Matilda “Mattie” Sheils had slipped out of the arms of family members while trying to escape the flash flood.
Seley’s husband, her mother, and her 4-year-old son were able to safely escape, Bucks County officials previously said.
Conrad’s family, who live in Charleston, South Carolina, have been notified of the decision and expressed their “deepest gratitude” for those involved in the search efforts and the community’s outpouring of love support and kind words, the post said.
Search ends nearly a week after 2-year-old sister was found
Since the weekend, Upper Makefield first responders have had marine units checking the Delaware River including along the banks of the river on the Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides, police said. Throughout the 11-day search agencies along the Delaware River all the way to Marcus Hook, south of Philadelphia, were notified of efforts.
Divers were able to get into the water and clear any outstanding areas, Upper Makefield police said. K-9 teams were used to check islands in the Delaware River and along the river banks.
The end of the search announcement comes nearly a week after “Mattie” was found floating in the Delaware River south of the Betsy Ross Bridge near Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood.
She was discovered 32 miles south of where she was last seen after the family’s car was caught up in waist-high water when Houghs Creek in Upper Makefield overflowed after up to 6 inches of rain fell over two hours. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed her death as accidental drowning.
‘Truly heartbroken and saddened’
Among the six confirmed dead was Seley who was holding Conrad when they were swept underneath a guardrail as they abandoned their car and attempted to get to higher ground. Her mother, Dahlia Galindez, 62, was holding Mattie when they were also swept away.
Galindez survived and Seley’s fiance, Jim Sheils, and the couple’s oldest child Jack, 4, also survived after firefighters were able to rescue them.
Also killed in the floods were Enzo and Linda DePietro, ages 78 and 74, of Newtown Township; Yuko Love, 64, of Newtown Township; and Susan Barnhart, 53, of Titusville, New Jersey. Their bodies, and Seley, were recovered within two days after the floods.
The search effort for the children, which officials called unprecedented, has included drones, air, ground and water resources including sonar, divers and dogs. Equipment and hundreds of first-responder personnel were recruited from Central New Jersey and as far south as Delaware and Chester counties to aid the search.
After Mattie was found Philadelphia Police Marine Unit and the United States Coast Guard began round-the-clock searches for Conrad in the Delaware River south of the Betsy Ross Bridge.
“Like all of you, we are truly heartbroken and saddened,” Upper Makefield police wrote. “Although, at this time, we were unable to reunite Conrad with his loving family, he will forever live in our hearts and he will never be forgotten,” the department wrote.
