Police have said the body of nine-month-old Oliver Cox was found in the Trinity River in Big Flat, northern California in a tragic update on Tuesday.
‘During the search efforts, an out-of-the-area diver who had travelled to the location to assist in the search located Oliver deceased and submerged in the river,’ the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office said.
‘Deputies who were in the area searching for Oliver were contacted and responded to the scene. Oliver was removed from the river and his family notified.
‘Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Oliver.’
The police search was assisted by Search and Rescue teams from Shasta and Trinity counties, Cal OES, the California Highway Patrol, the US Coast Guard and CalFire.
Oliver was traveling in a Lexus sedan with his mother, 19, and father, 21, as they drove on State Route 299 in the early hours of May 1, Keith Krick from the California Highway Patrol told McClatchy News.
His mother was driving when the car ‘traveled off the road, down an embankment and into the Trinity River,’ he said.
Police have said the body of nine-month-old Oliver Cox (pictured) was found in the Trinity River in Big Flat, northern California in a tragic update on Tuesday after he went missing May 1
A baby boy has been found dead in a river after he was swept away from his parents’ car following a collision on May 1. (Pictured: the search effort in Big Flat, northern California)
Trinity County Search and Rescue shared several photographs of the three-day search mission for baby Oliver, which involved scouring the Trinity River and surrounding terrain
As the couple frantically scrambled to free themselves and their baby from the sinking car, Oliver was swept away.
The parents suffered ‘moderate injuries’ and were taken to the hospital for treatment, according to officials.
Police are investigating what led to the crash. Neither drugs or alcohol are thought to have been a factor.
Trinity County Search and Rescue shared several photographs of the three-day search mission for baby Oliver.
‘We have spent many hours and miles meticulously searching the river banks by land, water and air,’ rescuers wrote before Oliver was found.
A baby boy has been found dead in a river after he was swept away from his parents’ car following a collision on May 1. (Pictured: the search effort in Big Flat, northern California)
Trinity County Search and Rescue shared several photographs of the three-day search mission for baby Oliver, which involved scouring the Trinity River and surrounding terrain
‘The terrain has been extremely challenging. Steep, rocky and in some areas impassable.
‘The majority of your search team are parents ourselves. The thought of a family having to go through this is unfathomable and extremely heartbreaking.’
Oliver’s aunt described him as a happy baby in an interview with Action News Now.
‘He was always playful, always happy to see everybody,’ Michelle Huskey told the news outlet. ‘He loved his mommy more than anything.’
