3-Year-Old Girl Among 18 Killed in California Mudslides

A 3-year-old girl was among the 18 people killed this week in California after mudslides and a flash flood devastated parts of coastal Montecito, authorities said.

Kailly Benitez, the youngest victim, and three other children have been confirmed dead following Tuesday’s natural disaster, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said. The oldest victim was 89-year-old James Mitchell, who died with his 78-year-old wife Alice Mitchell.

The sheriff’s office on Thursday released the names of the deceased, which include 10-year-old Jonathan Benitez, 12-year-old Sawyer Corey and 6-year-old Peerawat Sutthithepn. All of the victims were from Montecito. The Santa Barbara County Coroner’s Office listed all their causes of death as “multiple traumatic injuries due to flash flood with mudslides due to recent wildfire.”

Eight people are still missing after the destruction, but authorities said search efforts are still ongoing. “At this moment, we are still looking for live victims,” Santa Barbara fire Capt. Gary Pitney said, according to the Associated Press. “The likelihood is increasing that we’ll be finding bodies, not survivors. You have to start accepting the reality of that.”

Here’s the full list of victims who have been named:

Jonathan Benitez, 10
Kailly Benitez, 3
Martin Cabrera-Munoz, 48
David Cantin, 49
Sawyer Corey, 12
Peter Fleurat, 73
Josephine Gower, 69
John McManigal, 61
Alice Mitchell, 78
James Mitchell, 89
Mark Montgomery, 54
Caroline Montgomery, 22
Marilyn Ramos, 27
Rebecca Riskin, 61
Roy Rohter, 84
Peerawat Sutthithepn, 6
Richard Taylor, 67