The bodies of an Indian family have been recovered after they went missing two weeks ago while on a road trip in the United States.
Sandeep Thottapilly along with his wife Soumya, and their children Siddhant and Saachi were on a road trip from Portland, Oregon, to San Jose, California, when they went missing in the first week of April.
Sandeep’s family was travelling in their maroon Honda Pilot and their friends in the US have said the family was scheduled to stop in San Jose on April 6th for a quick visit but they never arrived.
Local authorities initiated a search operation for the family north of Leggett in the Eel River for an SUV after a local Highway Patrol Officer reported an SUV, matching the description of Sandeep’s car, being swept away with its occupants in the flood waters on Friday.
Source: SBS
Extensive search operation was conducted in the Eel River in northern California during which some vital personal belongings along with an unidentified body of a woman was recovered by the US authorities first.
Over the next few days, the authorities have recovered bodies of the remaining members and positively identified them.
The searchers located a vehicle submerged approximately 4-6 feet beneath the water, police said in a .
On Monday, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office & Office of Emergency Services tweeted, ’All members of the Thottapilly family have been found.’
An autopsy is expected to be performed this week as part of the Coroner's investigation into the incident.
Sandeep worked with the Union Bank in the US and his anxious father, Babu Subramaniam Thottapilly, based in India had reached out to the bank and India’s Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj for help.
Sushma Swaraj tweeted that she had been in touch with the consulate in San Francisco and has assured help to Sandeep’s family based in India.
