Search crews find 21st victim of Montecito mudslides

January 21, 2018

With the help of rescue dogs, searchers in Montecito found the body of woman lost during the deadly mudslides on Saturday morning, putting the number of fatalities at 21 with two people still missing. [Cal Coast Times]

At about 10 a.m., rescue teams located the body of 28-year-old Faviola Benitez Calderon of Montecito in the 100 block of Santo Tomas Lane near Olive Mill Road and above Coast Village Road. Her family was already mourning the loss of Faviola’s 10-year-old son, Jonathan Benitez and his cousin 3-year-old Kailly Benitez, as well as Kailly’s mother, 27-year-old Marilyn Ramos.

There are two people still missing, two-year-old Lydia Sutthithepa and 17-year-old Jack Cantin, officials said.

The storm, which devastated the Montecito area in the aftermath of the Thomas Fire, destroyed 115 single-family homes and damaged another 242. Four commercial properties have been destroyed, and 21 have been damaged.