According to officials, the body of a child recovered from the Delaware River in Pennsylvania is said to be missing two-year-old Matilda Shiels.
The body was discovered around 5:30 p.m. Friday by Philadelphia police in the Port Richmond neighborhood.
At a news conference, officials said it was strongly Matilda Shiels based on the clothing descriptions on the child’s body.
Matilda’s mother, Katie Seely, 32, was found dead last week after flash flooding hit Bucks County.
Seely’s eldest son, husband Jim and mother Dalia, 62, survived the deluge last Saturday but their other son, nine-month-old Conrad, is still missing.
The body of a child recovered from the Delaware River in Pennsylvania is believed to be that of missing two-year-old Matilda Shiels
The family, from Charleston, South Carolina, was visiting relatives in the area when the severe flooding hit
The search is continuing, officials said. The family, from Charleston, South Carolina, was visiting relatives in the area when the severe flooding hit.
About 11 vehicles were on General Washington Memorial Boulevard near the river when the downpour caught them and three of them were swept away.
Eight people were rescued from cars and two from Houghs Creek. Their vehicles were swept away in the flash flood – and the father, Jim Sheils, was able to get him and his four-year-old Jack to safety.
Katie and her mother Dahlia were trying to keep the other two children, Maddie and Conrad, safe as they were all swept away by the deluge.
Grandmother Dahlia survived and was hospitalized. But during the search, rescue workers found mother Katie dead.
Peter, Katie’s uncle and Dahlia’s brother, wrote on social media following a police update: “The grandmother is my sister… this is so devastating but your updates and all the supportive comments were comforting.”
Matilda has been missing since Saturday when her family’s car was caught in a flash flood in Pennsylvania
Jim Sheils (pictured) was able to get him and his four-year-old Jack to safety
Rescue workers found mother Katie dead during their search operations
Upper Makefield Fire Chief Tim Brewer said the storms dropped about 15 to 17 inches of rain in an hour
Four others were killed in the Bucks County flooding and searches are ongoing
Four other people died in the Bucks County flooding: Enzo De Piero, 78, and Linda De Piero, 74, Yuko Love, 64, and Susan Barnhart, 53.
Upper Makefield Fire Chief Tim Brewer said the storms brought down about 15 to 17 inches of rain in an hour, adding: “In my 44 years I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I thought Hurricane Ida was the benchmark, but that’s the benchmark,” Brewer said, referring to the deadly and extremely destructive Category 4 storm of 2021, which became the second most damaging and violent hurricane to make landfall in the United States after Hurricane Katrina.
According to the state Department of Transportation, four state roads in Bucks County were closed due to the flooding.
A local resident, Nick Primola, told abc6 that he saw cars being washed away and driving upside down in the streets.
“I guess it was just lucky timing because the people who were there just 10 minutes earlier weren’t that lucky. They really had no warning and were involved,” he said.
“I’ve never seen anything like this so fast.” “I mean, this is an area that has a lot of waterways, so people are used to flooding, but I think that’s why it crept up on these people who were driving,” Primola added.