Family joins search for man swept away during Calif. flood

Workers remove mud and debris on California 58 east of Tehachapi, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. A section of Southern California found itself waist-deep in mud as the weekend arrived, and a highway overtaken by flowing debris looked like a buried junkyard of hundreds of cars that would likely take days to dig up. (Francine Orr /Los Angeles Times via AP) NO FORNS; NO SALES; MAGS OUT; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER OUT; LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS OUT; INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT, TV OUT Workers remove mud and debris on California 58 east of Tehachapi, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. A section of Southern California found itself waist-deep in mud as the weekend arrived, and a highway overtaken by flowing debris looked like a buried junkyard of hundreds of cars that would likely take days to dig up. (Francine Orr /Los Angeles Times via AP) NO FORNS; NO SALES; MAGS OUT; ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER OUT; LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS OUT; INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT, TV OUT

By Associated Press October 19, 2015 4 min read

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Richard Harvell saw the mud and water coming and knew he had to get out of the flash-flood zone where he’d been camping at the foot of the Tehachapi Mountains.

He almost made it.

Harvell, 67, was knocked off his feet by a boulder and swept away by mud and water as he tried to climb into his truck Thursday while a ferocious thunderstorm sent mud, water and debris down a mountainside, inundating roads, homes and vehicles.

Family and friends have joined a Kern County Sheriff’s Department rescue team in searching for him since Friday, their efforts sometimes interrupted by bad weather.

On Monday the team brought out cadaver dogs, Harvell’s daughter Susan Garcia told The Associated Press. But she added that she, her five siblings and their mother are holding out hope he’s alive.