Death toll in mudslides reaches 14
'Massive flash flood' tore through canyon, officials say
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Rescuers have found 14 victims of two mudslides.
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Searchers recover five more bodies from flash floods and mudslides in the San Bernardino Mountains. CNN's Miguel Marquez has the story (December 29)
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SAN BERNARDINO, California (CNN) -- Searchers recovered five more bodies Sunday from flash floods and mudslides in the San Bernardino Mountains, bringing the death toll from heavy rains Christmas Day to 14, authorities said.
Twelve bodies -- including seven children -- were found in Old Waterman Canyon. Still unrecovered are an 8-month-old boy and a 12- to 13-year-old boy.
All were together in a building at a campground owned by St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Los Angeles when the mudslide struck Thursday morning.
Two other people died in a separate mudslide that washed out a KOA campground in Devore, five miles to the west.
Among the bodies recovered Sunday were those of three women and one man found in the St. Sophia Camp area, authorities said. Some bodies took two to four hours each to extricate using a bulldozer and other heavy equipment.
A boy age 12-14 and a girl under 10 were recovered in a catch basin more than four miles away, said Chip Patterson, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
"I think this demonstrates the force of the power of the water," he said about the flash flood that swept the victims to their deaths. Broken tree branches 20 feet off the ground could be seen.
"It's very clear to us this happened suddenly, with massive force," Patterson said.
After more than three days of searches for people buried under trees, boulders, and deep mud, officials suspended the search until Monday morning.
"It's just too dangerous, and it just hasn't worked," Patterson said of the overnight efforts.
Because Old Waterman Canyon was ravaged by wildfires in October, there was no vegetation to absorb Thursday morning's powerful rains -- and officials warned in October that heavy rain in damaged areas could trigger mudslides.
Patterson said that what happened in Old Waterman Canyon on Christmas morning was "not just a mudslide" but "a massive flash flood that went on for miles."
"Based on what we know, the whole power of the flash flood was almost indescribable," he said.
"How many feet of water came through there and how fast is unknown, but you know how much water it would take to move car-sized boulders and refrigerator-sized boulders as if they were pebbles. That's what happened."
San Bernardino County Fire Department spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said 4 inches of rain fell on the area Christmas day: "That's about the amount of rain they receive in a month."
With as much as 3.5 inches of rain predicted for Tuesday into Wednesday, authorities were concerned about the potential for additional flooding and mudslides in the denuded hills.
All that remains of a living room is this sofa.
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"The chances for additional flash floods and mudslides -- but mainly flash floods -- is great," Martinez said. "Everyone needs to be prepared now."
Martinez called on people to be prepared to evacuate areas damaged or destroyed in the wildfires. Deputies can't evacuate all those areas, she said.
"Now is the time to prepare if you have not prepared," she said. "It's beautiful and sunny out there, but it may not be tomorrow. You need to prepare ahead of time."
All the victims at St. Sophia Camp were friends and family of the camp's caretaker, Jorge Monzon. He was listed among the missing along with his wife and infant daughter.
The bodies of two of Monzon's daughters -- 17-year-old Wendy and 9-year-old Raquel -- were among the bodies found. Others were identified as Jose Pablo Navarro, 11, his cousin Ivan Navarro, 13, and Ramon Meza, 30.
Many of those killed at the camp were members of the Church of God Prophecy in San Bernardino, where 200 people attended a memorial service Sunday afternoon, The Associated Press reported.
They were among the 28 people thought to have been celebrating Christmas at the camp when the mudslide struck. Many were immigrants from Guatemala, the Rev. Emilio Ruedas told the AP. Fourteen were rescued.
At the KOA campground in Devore, manager Janice Arlene Stout-Bradley, 60, was killed shortly after talking on the phone to her granddaughters, the AP reported.
Kari Best, 16, and Jamie Best, 13, told the AP that Stout-Bradley said she wasn't worried and was even baking brownies.
They said officials told them she apparently was standing on the front porch of her mobile home when she was swept away by a wave of water and probably killed instantly.
The other person killed at the campground was Carol Eugene Nuss, 57, an insurance adjuster from Kansas who had arrived a month earlier to handle wildfire claims.
Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
