Update 2:30 p.m. EST Nov. 30: Officials from the Gila County Sheriff's Office confirmed a 5-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl were found dead Saturday afternoon, KNXV reported. The children were traveling in a military-style vehicle when it was wept away by flooding in the Tonto Basin area around 4 p.m. on Friday.
According to the Gila County Sheriff's Office, two of the three children reported missing following the crash were located around 8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. on Saturday.
#BREAKING: A 5-year-old boy has been found dead after a military-style vehicle was swept away by flooding in the Tonto Basin area. Additional updates: https://t.co/wAKBIW5mor #abc15
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) November 30, 2019
#BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: GCSO has confirmed the body of a second child has been found in the Tonto Basin area. One child remains missing. Details: https://t.co/wAKBIW5mor #abc15 pic.twitter.com/MbTRNe2x0j
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) November 30, 2019
Original story: According to the Gila County Sheriff's Office, an out-of-state family attempted to cross Tonto Creek at the Bar X crossing around 4 p.m., but the military-style motor home was swept up by flash flooding, KNXV reported.
While one adult woman was able to escape the vehicle and make it to a nearby bank, another adult and four children made it only as far as an island from which they were airlifted to safety, KSAZ reported.
Of the three children still missing, two are 5 years old and one is 6. Officials on the scene told KNXV at least 50 people are assisting in the ongoing search and rescue efforts, and first responders plan to continue searching through the night.
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