Matilda Sheils’s body was found around 30 miles from where she was swept away (Pictures: AP/Facebook)
The body of a young girl recovered from the Delaware River is that of a missing two-year-old Matilda Sheils, who was swept away with her nine-month-old brother in a flash flood last weekend.
‘Mattie’ and baby brother Conrad vanished after the family car was hit by a ‘wall of water’ while travelling from their home in Charleston, South Carolina, to visit relatives in Pennsylvania.
Her body was found around 30 miles away near a wastewater treatment plant in Philadelphia. Police in Upper Makefield Township confirmed the ‘tragic’ news on Saturday.
They said in a statement posted on Facebook: ‘We know so many are still reeling at the tragic loss of life, but we are grateful that prayers were answered and that we were able to bring Mattie home.
‘This has only strengthened our resolve to reunite Conrad with his family and sister.’
Officials said their mother, Katie Seley, 32, was killed in the floods. Their father, Jim Sheils, grabbed their four-year-old son, while a grandmother took hold of the other children.
Jim and the toddler made it to safety, but the rushing water swept Katie and the older relative away. The latter fortunately survived, Upper Makefield Fire Chief Tim Brewer said.
Jim and Matilda Sheils (Picture: Facebook)
Wreckage left in the wake of the raging floods (Picture: Lower Makefield Township Police Department)
Four other people drowned in the area, according to the Bucks County Coroner’s office (Picture: 6abc Philadelphia – WPVI)
One of the cars that was swept up in flooding (Picture: AP)
Police said the family ‘would like to express their continued gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and concern from the community and from people around the country’.
They added: ‘We are grateful that our little Mattie has been brought home to us. We are still praying for the return of Conrad.
‘Thank you all, again, for your compassion and your kindness. We are humbled.’
Four other people drowned in the area, according to the Bucks County Coroner’s office.
They were Enzo Depiero, 78, and Linda Depiero, 74, of Newtown; Yuko Love, 64, of Newtown; and Susan Barnhart, 53, of Titusville, New Jersey.
The deaths and the search for the children have led to an outpouring of support, particularly in social media, in the suburb about 35 miles north of Philadelphia.
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Matilda Sheils was swept away with her nine-month-old brother, who is still missing.
