Thottapilly family SUV that plunged into swollen river in California found with 2 bodies inside; young boy still missing

Local rescuers searching for a Indian family whose SUV plunged into a rain-swollen Northern California river have found the vehicle and the body of a man and a girl inside it. Sandeep Thottapilly, 41, vice president of the Union Bank on Santa Clarita, and his wife Soumya Thottapilly, 38, were on a road trip along with their two children — Siddhanth, 12 and Saachi, 9 — in a maroon Honda Pilot from Portland, Oregon to San Jose in Southern California, during which they went missing on 5 April. [caption id=“attachment_4054803” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] They were reported missing April 8 after failing to show up for family visit in San Jose. The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that searchers located the car Sunday and recovered the bodies of 41-year-old Sandeep Thottapilly and 9-year-old Saachi Thottapilly.

Searchers have recovered the bodies of Sandeep Thottapilly and Saachi Thottapilly from inside the vehicle. The search continues for Siddhant Thottapilly who remains missing. #EelRiverRecovery https://t.co/TUkBHPeFc8

— Mendocino Sheriff (@MendoSheriff) April 16, 2018

The office also said the body of an adult female found in the Eel River on Friday has been identified as 38-year-old Soumya Thottapilly . The couple’s 12-year-old son, Sidhhant Thottapilly remains missing. An inter-agency search and rescue team in California also recovered personal belongings of the four members of the family from Santa Clarita in California, who were believed to be travelling through Humboldt and Mendocino County on US-101 while on a vacation, early last week. Local news agencies are reporting that at least 70 searchers were involved in the rescue effort on the Eel River in Leggett, California. After several hours of searching near the reported crash site, search teams found the Thottapilly vehicle submerged about 4-6 feet beneath the water.