Found Deceased CA - Sandeep 42, Soumya 38, Siddhant 12, Saachi Thottapilly, 9, Klamath, 5 Apr 2018

JerseyGirl

Forum Coordinator
Staff member
Forum Coordinators
Joined
May 15, 2013
Messages
55,637
Reaction score
192,138
Two adults and two children of the Thottappilly family were on their way from Portland, Oregon, to San Jose, where they suddenly stopped communicating with family in Valencia. The family, all having the Thottapilly surname, includes: Sandeep, 42, father; Soumya, 38, mother; Siddhant, 12, their son; and 9-year-old Saachi, their daughter.

Family-pic.jpg

https://signalscv.com/2018/04/valencia-family-reported-missing-coastal-road-trip/
 
News of the family’s absence was posted Monday on Facebook as a “Missing” poster explaining briefly what happened.


The notice reads: “We lost contact with them on April 5. Last known location is around Klamath – Redwood National Park Area.”

https://signalscv.com/2018/04/valencia-family-reported-missing-coastal-road-trip/

I hope this was just a miscommunication about their vacation plans-- maybe they are camping somewhere with no cell signal?

But car accident is my first thought. :(
 
http://www.times-standard.com/gener...away-in-eel-river-off-highway-101-chp-reports
That is the only car crash news I can find from the correct time frame, but really I would think the family would have been notified in some manner if it was a crash that was reported. I worry more about driving at night and in a spot where no one notices you went off the road. Or, as has happened in other cases, a family venturing onto a road that it is only open seasonally and getting caught in bad road conditions.

I hope the family has officially been reported missing so that LE can help them and get information out about their car. I am concerned that time may be of the essence here.
 
http://www.times-standard.com/gener...away-in-eel-river-off-highway-101-chp-reports
That is the only car crash news I can find from the correct time frame, but really I would think the family would have been notified in some manner if it was a crash that was reported. I worry more about driving at night and in a spot where no one notices you went off the road. Or, as has happened in other cases, a family venturing onto a road that it is only open seasonally and getting caught in bad road conditions.

I hope the family has officially been reported missing so that LE can help them and get information out about their car. I am concerned that time may be of the essence here.

Oh, no that's horrible! Rescuers were not able to find the car in the river. They might not even know the make, model or license plate to contact anyone about it. :(
 
Another article about the car lost in the river:
The water was swift and murky and the vehicle was completely submerged when Norris’ team arrived on the site.

“We’ll have to wait until the water goes down,” Norris said.

At this point, neither Norris nor the California Highway Patrol knew what type of vehicle went over the edge nor how many occupants were in it. Our hearts go out to the family that is waiting and not knowing what happened to their loved one.
http://kymkemp.com/2018/04/06/rescu...ter-it-plunged-into-eel-river-this-afternoon/
 
I have found another news report about the crash in the link I posted above.
http://kiem-tv.com/2018/04/09/chp-searches-for-car-submerged-in-eel-river/

But it does not offer any new information and it does not sound like they have been able to retrieve the vehicle. I also don't see anyone reporting what type of vehicle was involved or license plate information. Hopefully CHP has that info (whether it is related to this missing family or not).
 
Having lived in the Klamath Valley for 6 years I’m familiar with the roads. They’re no joke and are often windy and narrow, especially through the redwoods. My ex and I would take frequent road trips and I would often wonder how many cars were stranded down some of the endless cliffs. They also had some weak little guardrails that served no purpose for preventing a vehicle from going over. They were more or less a visual aid so you knew the curve was ahead.
Very desolate and it’s not uncommon to be the only car on the road.
Hope they find them soon :(


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Looks like someone posted a link to the crash on the original santa clarita article. I am not comfortable reaching out to the family with this sort of news, but I do hope they talk with LE and in a best case scenario, find out if is not possible to be the missing family.
 
It looks like 101S wouldn't be the most direct route to San Jose. It's a 10+ hour drive from Portland to San Jose. Adds about 4 hours to take 101 for the entirety. BUT, it's likely more scenic, and maybe this was a leisurely 'we're going to stop a lot' spring break trip. So it's possible it's this family.

I hope to goodness it's not, as it would be nice for a 'found safe, just didn't have cell service!' report, but it seems possible that it is. :(

ETA: In reading again, they were last heard from around 'Klamath'. That's along the coastal route, and comparatively speaking not too far from the crash site. So it does seem a likely possibility.
 
http://kymkemp.com/2018/04/09/river...ocate-vehicle-that-was-swallowed-last-friday/

There's a comment re: debris at the scene below this link.

Anyone see the vehicle this family was operating described anywhere?

I see the comment, good catch. Here is the missing poster.. they were driving a Maroon Honda Pilot.

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • 30582186_1068288253311418_6645436256664682496_n.jpg
    30582186_1068288253311418_6645436256664682496_n.jpg
    63.8 KB · Views: 528
I have a sinking feeling the missing vehicle in the river is this family.
Prayers I'm wrong.
 
That missing person poster wasn't loading for me at all. Just so y'all don't think I'm a complete idiot. I do appreciate everyone that responded with the info!
 
Excellent work finding more details! But so disappointing that they have no additional information on the car. I would think whomever reported it might at least know the color/style.

Maybe it happened in the evening and the person who reported the car going down only saw the tail lights.

Unfortunately it looks a likely possibility that it is this family's car.

If it wasn't wouldn't someone else have been reported missing in that area?
 
Maybe it happened in the evening and the person who reported the car going down only saw the tail lights.

Unfortunately it looks a likely possibility that it is this family's car.

If it wasn't wouldn't someone else have been reported missing in that area?

The accident is listed at happening in the afternoon. Some comments indicate there was obvious signs like cleared brush and tire tracks from the shoulder as well as seeing the car flipped upside down in the river. So the witness may not have seen the car in the turn out.

When I first found that article, I had done a quick search after Gardner posted they were thinking it could be a car accident. I almost didn't post as I really didn't think it was likely to be related. It wasn't clear to me from that article that the car had *still* not been retrieved and that as of Monday no one locally had mentioned who the possible victims could be. But it is certainly looking more and more possible as the details come out. I just really hope at this point the family in Valencia has met with LE and that the CHP has given them any information they can to help determine if this accident involved the missing family.
 
Phone data would be helpful right now.
Depending on how often they communicate with family, April 5th was the last day they heard from them. This happened the 6th.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
89
Guests online
775
Total visitors
864

Forum statistics

Threads
589,927
Messages
17,927,740
Members
228,002
Latest member
zipperoni
Back
Top