Officials: 6 bodies, van found after being swept away in Harvey flood

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Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Family's van found after being swept away in flood near Greens Bayou
Six family members swept away in fast-moving flood on Greens Bayou

HOUSTON, Texas -- Officers have located a submerged van in which six members of a Houston family were traveling when it was swept off a Houston bridge and into a storm-ravaged bayou.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says the van is in about 10 feet (3 meters) of muddy water in Green's Bayou in northeast Houston. He says the bodies of two adults can be seen in the front seat but that if the four children's bodies are inside they are obscured because of the water conditions and the angle of the vehicle.

Authorities are trying to decide whether dive team members will retrieve the bodies or if it would be safer to pull the van from the treacherous water first.

Samuel Saldivar told deputies he was in his brother's van rescuing his parents and relatives from their flooded home Sunday when the van was tossed by a strong current into the bayou as it crossed a bridge. He escaped through a window but the others were trapped.

Six family members are presumed dead after a heartbreaking van ride in north Harris County.