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The mood was somber, the atmosphere heavy, at the Crossing Church in Bucks County on Thursday night as hundreds of neighbors gathered to remember in song and in prayer the five confirmed dead in last weekend's flash flood — and to pray for the family of the two young children still missing.
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WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Search operations for the two young children who were swept away in a flash flood in Bucks County over the weekend have been stalled due to the weather and river conditions.
Dive teams had planned to start an underwater operation on Thursday, after Wednesday’s rain prevented them from doing so. But as the search for 2-year-old Mattie Sheils and her brother, 9-month-old Conrad, enters its fifth day, they were thwarted again. It is foggy along the creek and river, and storms are expected later in the afternoon.
“Unfortunately, the weather once again is impeding our search efforts,” the Upper Makefield Township Police Department said in a statement. “There is morning fog all over the township and especially near the river and we are expecting storms this afternoon. Like yesterday, we will be continually assessing the conditions and should we be able to resume the search utilizing the resources we need to deploy, we will do so immediately. However, given the weather forecasts, we do not anticipate we will be able to resume our search today to bring Mattie and Conrad home.”
The water moved in fast on July 15. The children’s mother, Katie Seley, was one of the first victims first responders found.
According to police, first responders were dispatched to Route 532 just before 5:30 p.m. Saturday. They received a call that a bolt of lightning may have struck a power pole. But when they got close, they ran into severe flooding.
Nearly a dozen people had to be rescued from cars and the water. Fire Chief Tim Brewer previously said nobody drove into the flash flood but they were met by a wall of water.
Between 7 and 8 p.m., officials found the first three victims: Seley, Enzo DePiero and Susan Barnhart. On Sunday morning, search teams located two more victims, Yuko Love and Linda DePiero.
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Zack DePiero, the son of Enzo and Linda DePiero, said he had perfect parents.
“They cared about people,” he told NBC10. “They tried to make people feel special. They tried to make people laugh. They had a lot of love in their hearts. And they had a lot more love to give, too.”
“It’s just really difficult to process,” Linda Mitchell, with the Newtown Athletic Club, told NBC10. She said Love came to the gym daily and was adored by many. “From the first time I ever met her and she said hello to me, I felt like she loved me, and she loved everybody and we loved her.”
Mattie and Conrad Sheils were in the car with their family en route to a barbecue when their car got stuck on Washington Crossing Road in the rapidly rising water. Their father, Jim Sheils, and their other sibling, 4-year-old Jack, survived, as well as their grandmother.
In addition to the 10 people first responders rescued during the flash flood event, police said two others were swept away but managed to get to a nearby home. First responders were able to get them to the hospital for treatment.
“We hope this timeline provides a further understanding of what occurred during those first 24-48 hours,” the Upper Makefield Township Police Department added in a statement. “The search involved countless local, county, and state agencies coordinating their efforts.”
Vigils have been organized throughout the community over the next week for the families impacted by the flood. One is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. at The Crossing church on Wrightstown Road. Another is set for Sunday at 7 p.m. at the 9/11 Memorial Garden of Reflection in Yardley.