Search for missing 75-year-old woman continues after massive mudslide in San Bernardino Mountains
Search and rescue crews have been busy transporting people trapped inside of their homes in the San Bernardino Mountains after a mudslide triggered by Tropical Storm Hilary over the weekend.
While they rescued around 20 people on Tuesday alone, they're still searching for one woman who hasn't been seen since before the storm.
Christie Rockwood, 75, is still not accounted for, and family members are worried that her trailer got swept up in the massive mudslide, which has blocked up miles of the surrounding area.
"My mom was on the phone with somebody and it cut out, ... that's when the mudslide kinda happened," said Rockwood's daughter, Tracey Monteverde.
She says there's nothing left on the slab where her mother's trailer had sat for the last 11 years.
"If she is hurt or injured, or like stuck, and she's probably covered in mud, I'm really trying not to think about any outcome like that," Monteverde said, noting that Rockwood has a bad knee which would have prevented her from moving quick enough to leave the trailer when the slide occurred.
Monteverde says that the community has undergone so many evacuation warnings and orders over the years that she figured she would be fine once again, expressing more concern for her daughter living near the ocean when the tropical storm hit.
A large amount of the community living in the area say they couldn't separate from their homes when evacuation orders were issued.
Larry Ragsdale was one of those people, who detailed the terrifying moments that the mud began to rush through the area.
"All of the sudden the lights went out and we heard a huge roar. I went out on my porch and the water was coming up, like 20 feet away," he said. "I watched one of the mobile homes there going down the road."
They've been told it could be as long as a year before they're able to return to their homes and gather what belongings they have left due to the danger left by the slide.
Firefighters say that despite the road leading to the homes being completely swept away by the mudslide, six residents are refusing to be rescued.
Work is expected to continue in coming days to rescue other people who are still trapped inside of their homes by the large amount of mud and debris blocking them in.
While recovery efforts carry on, local politicians are reaching out to the federal government for assistance.
"The Inland Empire has time and again come together to rebuild from flooding, wildfires, and mudslides, and we will do so again," said a statement from Congresswoman Norma J. Torres, who represent's California's 35th District, overseeing much of the Inland Empire. "Our communities are resilient, but we need federal aid to bounce back from Tropical Storm Hilary."
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