Upper Makefield Ends Exhaustive Search For 9-Month-Old Flood Victim

UPPER MAKEFIELD, PA — After checking the islands in the Delaware River and along the banks of the Delaware River this week, Upper Makefield has reluctantly ended its exhaustive search for 9-month-old Conrad Sheils who was swept away by flood waters on July 15.

"At this point, we have exhausted all means of attempting to locate Conrad," said police in a Facebook posting late Wednesday afternoon. "With broken hearts, we regretfully announce that the active search for Conrad has concluded. The family has been made aware of this development and they would like to express their deepest gratitude to all those involved in the search efforts to bring Conrad home and to all of you for all your outpouring of love, support, and kind words during this extremely difficult time."

The search effort has been ongoing since July 15 when a torrential rainstorm dropped six inches of rain on the township in about 30 minutes turning normally docile creeks into raging torrents and flooding numerous highways.

The worst of the flooding occurred along Rt. 532 in the area of Stonebridge Crossing Road between Aqueduct and Wrightstown Roads.

The flash flooding caught numerous motorists by surprise, trapping some and sweeping away others.

Conrad was last seen with his mother, Katie Seley, his sister, Mattie Sheils, and his grandmother, Dahlia Galindez, on Washington Crossing Road. The three were caught in a sudden rush of water after abandoning their car.

Galindez, who survived, later said it felt like a dam had broken.

The sudden rush of water sent Galindez underwater. She was eventually able to grab onto a tree and make her way to safety. The other three disappeared in the onslaught of muddy, debris-filled water that filled Houghs Creek and covered the roadway.

The flooding claimed the lives of seven: Katie Seley, Mattie and Conrad Sheils of Charleston, South Carolina; Linda and Enzo DePiero of Newtown Township; Susan Barnhart of Titusville, New Jersey; and Yuko Love of Newtown Township.

"Like all of you, we are truly heartbroken and saddened," said police. "Although, at this time, we were unable to reunite Conrad with his loving family, he will forever live in our hearts and he will never be forgotten. We thank all of you for your messages, for your offers of help, for all your encouragement, and for all your patience and understanding during this tragic event. We truly worked as one team and will forever be connected. We stood together and we stood strong."

Photo Courtesy of the Upper Makefield Police Department.

Photo courtesy of the Upper Makefield Police Department.

Photo courtesy of the Upper Makefield Police Department.

Photo courtesy of the Upper Makefield Police Department.

During a vigil on Sunday at the Garden of Reflection in Lower Makefield, Conrad's grandfather Paul Sheils commended the first responders and the search and rescue teams from Upper Makefield, Newtown Township, Yardley-Makefield, and surrounding jurisdictions "who reacted quickly and bravely in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions to rescue many people caught in that flash flood but also spent the last eight days conducting the most professionally exhaustive search possible to find our precious Matilda and Conrad.

"Several of us toured the rescue and command center and talked with the extraordinary team leading the search efforts. Believe me when I tell you that every resource possible, including over 100 highly trained professionals, drones, divers, search vessels, advance sonar units, and
multiple K9 units were deployed in this massive search effort. No stone was left unturned to bring our precious children home.

"But what surprised and affected me the most about this extraordinary team was their deep emotional involvement in the search," Sheils continued. "This was not just another day at the office for these brave men and women. Many of the rescuers we visited had tears in their eyes
when we thanked them. One of them told me why. It was because they were all treating the search as if they were looking for their own children. And it showed," he said. "In our view, these men and women are heroes."

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