The father of a missing five-year-old has revealed the final words the boy said to his mother before he was swept away during the catastrophic floods in California.
On Monday, Kyle Doan was separated from his mother as floodwaters swept through the US state.
According to reports, Kyle and his mother were on their way to school near Paso Robles, close to the central Californian coast when their car was hit by floodwaters at around 8am.
The car became stranded and although bystanders were able to pull the mother out of the truck, the boy was carried out of the vehicle and swept downstream, local police said.
Speaking to the press, Brian Doan, Kyle’s father, said his son’s final words were “don’t worry mommy” adding: “He wasn’t quite processing what was going on.
“But he was so calm talking to my wife while they were still in the car.”
Brian said his wife had tried to “hold onto him” before they got separated as she tried to stabilise the car.
“She made the best decision she could,” he said. “I’ve got to keep stressing that. She couldn’t stay in the car with him.
“The flows were going to overpower the car later on. They got out. That was the right thing to do.”
A search was suspended on Wednesday due to poor visibility and all that has been recovered are one of the five-year-old’s Nike shoes.
Kyle’s father has now admitted he’s prepared for the worst, adding: “You know what the odds are. And as much as people try to be optimistic – and I’m supportive for my wife – it’s hard.”
At least 17 people have died from storms that began late last month, Governor Gavin Newsom said during a visit to the scenic town of Capitola on the Santa Cruz coast that was hard hit by high surf and flooding creek waters last week.
The storm that began on Monday dumped more than a foot and a half (45cm) of rain in Southern California mountains and buried Sierra Nevada ski resorts in more than 5 feet (1.5 metres) of snow.
Up to 50,000 people have been placed under evacuation orders and more than 100,000 homes and businesses have been left without power.
“We’ve had fewer people die in the last two years of major wildfires in California than have died since New Year’s Day related to this weather,” Mr Newsom said. “These conditions are serious and they’re deadly.”
