http://www.timesunion.com/news/us/article/Mudslides-claim-couple-married-50-years-real-12492843.php
Deadly California slide swept mother, daughter from beds
Updated 8:28 pm, Friday, January 12, 2018
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown read the names and ages of the 17 people known dead in the California mudslide. All of the victims were from Montecito. More people remain missing. (Jan. 12)
Media: Associated PressMONTECITO, Calif. (AP) — The 18 victims confirmed dead in the California mudslides included a mother asleep with her 3-year-old daughter and the woman's 10-year-old nephew, who was sleeping nearby.
In another home, a man had just enough time to shout to his partner to grab onto something and try to save himself before the two were swept away by mud that crashed through the walls of their home. One died and the other survived.
The accounts are among the many stories about those who perished and those who managed with inexplicable good fortune to escape the slides in the wealthy enclave of Montecito, where resident ranged from captains of industry to people who manicured their lawns.
The US 101 Freeway at the Olive Mill Road overpass flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek.
The US 101 Freeway at the Olive Mill Road overpass flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek.
The US 101 Freeway at the Olive Mill Road overpass flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek.
The US 101 Freeway at the Olive Mill Road overpass flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek.
A man who gave his name only as Ian rides his bike through a mud puddle in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. More than a dozen people were killed and homes were torn from their foundations Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.
lessA man who gave his name only as Ian rides his bike through a mud puddle in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. More than a dozen people were killed and homes were torn from their foundations Tuesday as
... moreMontecito resident Donald Crouse surveys the damage on East Valley Road in Montecito, Calif., where utility lines fell onto a bridge during the rain storm, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
Montecito resident Donald Crouse surveys the damage on East Valley Road in Montecito, Calif., where utility lines fell onto a bridge during the rain storm, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
This photo provided by Stacey Wright with the Santa Barbara Urban Hikers shows a small dog being rescued on Olive Mill Rd. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Montecito, Calif. More than a dozen people were killed and homes were torn from their foundations Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.
lessThis photo provided by Stacey Wright with the Santa Barbara Urban Hikers shows a small dog being rescued on Olive Mill Rd. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Montecito, Calif. More than a dozen people were killed and
... moreFirefighters successfully rescued a 14 yr old girl (right) after she was trapped for hours inside a destroyed home in Montecito.
Firefighters successfully rescued a 14 yr old girl (right) after she was trapped for hours inside a destroyed home in Montecito.
A women is hoisted out with the help of a San Bernardino County Sheriff's helicopter on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in the Santa Ana River and near the borders of Rialto, Colton, and Riverside, Calif. Three people and a dog were rescued by a helicopter after large amounts of rain fell, trapping the group at a homeless encampment in the river.
lessA women is hoisted out with the help of a San Bernardino County Sheriff's helicopter on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in the Santa Ana River and near the borders of Rialto, Colton, and Riverside, Calif. Three people
... moreA women is hoisted out with the help of a San Bernardino County Sheriff's helicopter on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in the Santa Ana River and near the borders of Rialto, Colton, and Riverside, Calif. Three people and a dog were rescued by a helicopter after large amounts of rain fell, trapping the group at a homeless encampment in the river.
lessA women is hoisted out with the help of a San Bernardino County Sheriff's helicopter on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in the Santa Ana River and near the borders of Rialto, Colton, and Riverside, Calif. Three people
... moreThis photo provided by Stacey Wright with the Santa Barbara Urban Hikers shows rescue workers searching for survivors along Olive Mill Rd. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Montecito, Calif. More than a dozen people were killed and homes were torn from their foundations Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.
lessThis photo provided by Stacey Wright with the Santa Barbara Urban Hikers shows rescue workers searching for survivors along Olive Mill Rd. Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Montecito, Calif. More than a dozen people
... moreA car and debris smashed against a tree along Hot Springs Road in Montecito, Calif. Heavy rain brought flash flooding and mudslides to the area in Montecito, Calif. on Tuesday, January 9, 2018. At least five people were killed and homes were swept from their foundations Tuesday as heavy rain sent mud and boulders sliding down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.
lessA car and debris smashed against a tree along Hot Springs Road in Montecito, Calif. Heavy rain brought flash flooding and mudslides to the area in Montecito, Calif. on Tuesday, January 9, 2018. At least five
... moreThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows a home that has been buried in flood debris in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during the Thomas wildfire.
lessThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows a home that has been buried in flood debris in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday
... moreThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows a boat that has pierced a travel trailer in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during a recent wildfire.
lessThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows a boat that has pierced a travel trailer in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when
... moreSanta Barbara County Fire Search Dog Reilly looks for victims in damaged and destroyed homes in Montecito, California on January 9, 2018 following deadly runoff of mud and debris from heavy rain overnight.
Santa Barbara County Fire Search Dog Reilly looks for victims in damaged and destroyed homes in Montecito, California on January 9, 2018 following deadly runoff of mud and debris from heavy rain overnight.
Residents gather at a road blockage on East Valley Road in Montecito, Calif., where utility lines fell onto a bridge during the rain storm, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
Residents gather at a road blockage on East Valley Road in Montecito, Calif., where utility lines fell onto a bridge during the rain storm, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
Cars that were washed away are piled up on the banks of Romero Creek in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Dozens of homes were swept away or heavily damaged Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.
lessCars that were washed away are piled up on the banks of Romero Creek in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Dozens of homes were swept away or heavily damaged Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders
... moreThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows damaged vehicles carried by mud flow and debris at the parking garage of The Montecito Inn in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during the Thomas wildfire.
lessThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows damaged vehicles carried by mud flow and debris at the parking garage of The Montecito Inn in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
... moreCars sit in mud at a housing complex in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
Cars sit in mud at a housing complex in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
A Tesla sits in mud at a housing complex in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Dozens of homes were swept away or heavily damaged Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)
lessA Tesla sits in mud at a housing complex in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Dozens of homes were swept away or heavily damaged Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of
... moreIn this photo provided by Santa Barbara County Fire Department, shows a detail of a Mercedes-Benz hood ornament stuck in the mud after the vehicle was washed away and destroyed by flood waters in Montecito, Calif. on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during a recent wildfire.
lessIn this photo provided by Santa Barbara County Fire Department, shows a detail of a Mercedes-Benz hood ornament stuck in the mud after the vehicle was washed away and destroyed by flood waters in Montecito,
... moreDebris and Mud cover Hot Springs Road in Montecito, California on January 9, 2018 due to heavy rain fall in the region.
Debris and Mud cover Hot Springs Road in Montecito, California on January 9, 2018 due to heavy rain fall in the region.
A large boulder sits in the middle of Bella Vista Drive in Montecito, Calif., following the rain storm, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
A large boulder sits in the middle of Bella Vista Drive in Montecito, Calif., following the rain storm, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018.
Debris and Mud cover Hot Springs Road in Montecito, California on January 9, 2018 due to heavy rain fall in the region.
Debris and Mud cover Hot Springs Road in Montecito, California on January 9, 2018 due to heavy rain fall in the region.
The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad through Montecito is blocked with mudflow and debris due to heavy rains.
The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad through Montecito is blocked with mudflow and debris due to heavy rains.
This photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit helicopter under a rainbow while on a rescue mission following deadly mudflow after heavy rains trapped dozens of people in Montecito, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Several homes were swept away before dawn Tuesday when mud and debris roared into neighborhoods in Montecito from hillsides stripped of vegetation during the Thomas wildfire.
lessThis photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit helicopter under a rainbow while on a rescue mission following deadly mudflow after heavy rains
... moreFirefighters tend to a woman on Hot Springs Road while waiting for an ambulance. The woman was pulled by firefighters from a debris pile in Montecito caused by heavy rain runoff.
Firefighters tend to a woman on Hot Springs Road while waiting for an ambulance. The woman was pulled by firefighters from a debris pile in Montecito caused by heavy rain runoff.
This photo provided by Stacey Wright with the Santa Barbara Urban Hikers shows people being evacuated early Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Montecito, Calif. More than a dozen people were killed and homes were torn from their foundations Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month.
lessThis photo provided by Stacey Wright with the Santa Barbara Urban Hikers shows people being evacuated early Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Montecito, Calif. More than a dozen people were killed and homes were torn
... moreSanta Barbara county firefighters rescue two men and a woman from flood water/debris flow of Hot Springs Rd. in Montecito. Multiple rescues are underway throughout the area.
Santa Barbara county firefighters rescue two men and a woman from flood water/debris flow of Hot Springs Rd. in Montecito. Multiple rescues are underway throughout the area.
Santa Barbara county firefighters rescue two men and a woman from flood water/debris flow of Hot Springs Rd. in Montecito. Multiple rescues are underway throughout the area.
Santa Barbara county firefighters rescue two men and a woman from flood water/debris flow of Hot Springs Rd. in Montecito. Multiple rescues are underway throughout the area.
This photo provided by Stacey Wright with the Santa Barbara Urban Hikers shows rescue workers working to revive a child pulled from the mud Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Montecito, Calif. More than a dozen people were killed and homes were torn from their foundations Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month. The child's condition was unknown. (Stacey Wright/Santa Barbara Urban Hikers via AP)
lessThis photo provided by Stacey Wright with the Santa Barbara Urban Hikers shows rescue workers working to revive a child pulled from the mud Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Montecito, Calif. More than a dozen people
... moreHere are their stories.
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Marilyn Ramos was asleep in bed with her 3-year-old daughter, Kaelly Benitez, when the deadly mudslide came crashing through their Montecito rental home, carrying both to their deaths.
Also killed was Kaelly's 10-year-old cousin, Jonathan Benitez, who was asleep nearby.
Marilyn's husband, Antonio Benitez, was injured, as was his brother, Victor, who is Jonathan's father. Victor's 2-year-old son survived, but his wife, Fabiola, was still missing Friday.
The brothers, immigrants from Mexico, owned a gardening and landscaping business in Montecito. Marilyn was a stay-at-home mom.
"My sister was such a good person, she only thought of others to the point that she would cry with you when you were hurt or sick," Jennifer Ramos said between sobs as she spoke by phone from her home in Mexico.
Her 27-year-old sister called relatives every day in the town of Marquelia, near Acapulco on Mexico's Pacific coast, Jennifer Ramos said. When a call didn't come Tuesday she sensed something was wrong.
During her last call home the day before, Marilyn put her daughter on the phone and she happily told her aunt about the toys she received on Jan. 6, The Day of the Magi, a holiday widely celebrated in Latin America.
During a visit home in September Marilyn Ramos told her family she missed Mexico and hoped to return someday. On Friday, her family spoke with Mexican officials about bringing her body back.
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Peter Fleurat was at home with his partner of 17 years during Tuesday's violent storm when the couple felt the floor beneath them shake and roll.
Moments later, a wall of mud burst through their walls and swept him and Ralph "Lalo" Barajas away.
"The last thing Peter yelled out to me was, 'Lalo, grab onto some wood and don't let go,'" Barajas told CBS News. "That was the last I heard of him."
Barajas was rescued, treated for cuts, bruises and a sprained neck and released from a Santa Barbara hospital. He searched for his partner until he got the news that he had died.
Barajas is the owner of The Rose, a popular Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara, and his niece, Angelique Barajas, responded to offers of help from customers by launching a GoFundMe page for him.
She said her uncle will need money to replace his home and possessions — and to bury his partner.
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Jim and Alice Mitchell had been married for more than 50 years and had just celebrated Jim's 89th birthday when they were swept away along with their dog Gigi.
Jim, who worked in labor relations, and Alice, a schoolteacher, had moved to Montecito in 1995 after raising their two children in Southern California's Orange County.
"They're an adorable couple, and they were in love with their house," their daughter, Kelly Weimer, said Wednesday before learning they had died.
She last spoke to them Monday when she called to wish her father a happy birthday.
The couple had planned to stay at home the night of the storm and have a quiet dinner. Their grandson had taken them out to celebrate the day before.
The Mitchells are survived by their two children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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Rebecca Riskin was the picture of success and health before she was killed.
Her firm, Riskin Partners, credited the former ballerina with having closed more than $2 billion in high-end real estate sales since she founded the company in the early 1990s.
"She's leaving a huge void. She was exceptional," said Gina Conte, who described the 61-year-old Riskin as her best friend, mentor and confidante.
Conte said Riskin, who was the maid of honor at her wedding, took joy in pairing the perfect home with the perfect family and loved cooking, going for long walks and spending movie nights with her family.
Riskin was swept away after a mudslide tore through her living room, Conte said, adding that her husband survived because he was in bed in a part of the house that stayed intact. Her body was found Wednesday near a highway.
Riskin Partners spokeswoman Erin Lammers said Riskin was a member of the American Ballet Theater in New York before an injury cut short her dancing career.
She returned to her hometown of Los Angeles in 1979, where she began selling high-end real estate on the city's west side. She moved to Montecito in the early 1990s.
Riskin is survived by her husband, two grown children and a grandson.
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Lauren Cantin became the face of survival when rescuers pulled the mud-covered 14-year-old girl from her flattened home earlier this week. Authorities said her 49-year-old father, David, died and her 16-year-old brother, Jack, is missing.
NeoTract, a maker of devices used in the medical field of urology, launched a fundraising page Wednesday, asking for financial support for the family of Cantin's mother, Kim, a marketing executive.
In two days it more than tripled its goal of $20,000.
It took firefighters hours to dig Lauren out of the mud that destroyed her home.
"I thought I was dead for a minute," she told them before an ambulance took her away.
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David Cantin, who died in the mudslide that nearly claimed his daughter's life, was vice president of global sales for a leading developer of instruments used by surgeons.
Cantin's company, NDS Surgical Imaging, developed some of the medical industry's earliest digital imaging technologies for minimally invasive surgery.
He graduated from Bryant University and obtained a graduate degree from Xavier University, according to his employer's website.
He was also a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts.
His house was destroyed by the mudslide that buried his daughter for hours before firefighters could rescue her.
His wife, Kim, was also rescued. His 16-year-old son, Jack, remains, missing.
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Dr. Mark Montgomery and his 22-year-old daughter, Caroline, were among those killed in the disaster.
Mark Montgomery was a member of the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital medical staff. Hospital spokeswoman Maria Zate says he was an orthopedic surgeon with a subspecialty in hand surgery.
"This is an enormous loss for our community," the hospital said in a statement.
As word of his death spread tributes poured onto social media from colleagues, friends and patients.
"He fixed my hand after a camping accident in 2012, two weeks before my wedding," David Iglesias told the KSBY television station. "I cut all the tendons in my fingers. He was able to reattach them. I have full use and feeling in my hand because of Dr. Montgomery."
The 54-year-old graduated from Princeton University and Columbia University Medical School.
No information was immediately available about his daughter.
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The hammering rain was terrifying enough, but when David Weinert saw the house across the street erupt in flames fueled by a severed gas line, he knew it was time to abandon his Montecito home.
"Load up the car, get the dogs, we're out of here," the 58-year-old shopping center developer says he told his wife.
Unfortunately, there was no place to go. A police officer told him mudslides had already blocked all the roads out of town.
After driving for a few minutes, he realized the officer was right and went home. There he saw mudslides enveloping his street.
"The winds were just crazy. Trees were cracking. It was scary all right," he said Thursday.
Weinert's house was somehow spared but one of his neighbors, Riskin, was swept to her death.
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Josephine "Josie" Gower, who also died in the Montecito mudslides, was celebrated by family as a woman who loved and embraced life for each one of her 69 years.
"I have never met anyone quite like her and never will again," her daughter-in-law Sarah Gower wrote on Facebook after authorities confirmed Gower was one of 18 people killed by mudslides. "She was the life of the party, always, and loved us all so fiercely. She lived for her kids and for our kids."
Gower's own Facebook page reveals a woman with a playful love of life. One photo shows her dressed as a mermaid by a pool while others show her riding horses and cuddling with her cats.
"A bundle of fun," her daughter-in-law said. "She was just simply the most loving, cheerful, beautiful, strong, independent force. We will miss her so."
She is survived by two adult children and three grandchildren.
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Friends and family remembered John McManigal as a dedicated family man who died trying to help one of his six children flee the pre-dawn mudslide enveloping their home.
Awakened by a last-second warning Tuesday that disaster was approaching, McManigal, 61, roused his 23-year-old son, Connor, and the pair tried to flee. He was killed. His son, carried a mile by the mud, survived.
"Connor, is recovering from serious injuries in the hospital," a friend said in a statement posted on a GoFundMe page created for the family.
The posting described McManigal as "an amazing man, father of six, and a loving husband."
His community activities included serving as a host father for the Santa Barbara Foresters baseball club, for which Connor played.
"Like the rest of our larger Santa Barbara community, we are crushed by this tragedy," the club said in a statement. "We send love, prayers, and strength to the affected families and their loved ones."
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For a time during the deadly storm, 81-year-old Paula McDonald was one of the missing, without electricity or cellphone service and unable to reach her children to say she was all right.
McDonald was still at home in a retirement community this week, adding there was no point in leaving because she needs oxygen that is hard to transport to a hotel.
She took a look around outside to see just what the driving rainstorm had wrought as it triggered mudslides on hillsides laid bare by a massive wildfire last month.
"It's just incredible. Seeing pictures doesn't do it justice," she said of the downed trees, flattened houses and muddy streets. "I thought the fires were the worst things I'd seen in my life."
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One of the oldest victims was Roy Rohter, revered founder of a private Catholic school in nearby Ventura.
The 84-year-old former real estate broker had fled his Montecito home just last month when it came under threat from the wildfire. He died at that home, authorities confirmed Thursday.
"Roy believed intensely in the power of a Catholic education," St. Augustine Headmaster Michael Van Hecke, said this week. "He's been a deep supporter of the school in every way and a mentor to me personally, to the faculty and to the kids."
Officials of the K-12 school Rohter founded in 1994 said his wife was injured in the mudslide but survived.
"Pray also for his wife, Theresa, the gentle giant of charity and grace, and for his children and grandchildren," the school said in a statement.
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This story has been updated to correct the name of the hospital where Dr. Mark Montgomery worked to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, not Santa Barbara College Hospital and to show the last name of the hospital's spokeswoman is Zate, not Zarte. It also corrects the first name of Kaelly Benitez to Kaelly not Kailly.
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Rogers and Watson reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Krysta Fauria in Montecito and Michael Balsamo and Amanda Lee Myers in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
