The death toll from last week’s Montecito mudslides in Southern California rose to at least 20 people on Sunday. The body of the latest victim, 30-year-old Pinit Sutthithepa, was found on Saturday afternoon. Police are still searching for at least four people in the area. One is Sutthithepa’s 2-year-old daughter, Lydia. Authorities said Sunday that the chances of finding more survivors had dwindled so they had transitioned from rescue work to the search-and-recovery phase. “This decision was not made lightly,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. At least 73 homes were destroyed and 61 others were damaged.
The death toll in the mudslides that buried parts of Montecito in muck and boulders has risen to 20, officials said https://t.co/hL9kMaAtAT
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 14, 2018
