Five members of a Utah family were killed in a flash flood over the weekend after going out for a day of hiking in the southern part of the US state. The victims included a fire captain, Spencer Long, his wife and three sons. A daughter who did not join the outing is the only member of the family not to have died. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
"It is believed the family fell victim to flooding caused by heavy rains," the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The family arrived at a campground near Bicknell, Utah, for a day trip on Friday. Officials were called to that campground around 17:00 local time (23:00 GMT) on Friday, where a young male victim was found dead. Upon searching, another two male victims were found dead. On Saturday, the search resumed for the remaining two individuals, who the sheriff's office later confirmed were found dead.
Identification of the family came from Provo Fire & Rescue, which announced the death of Captain Spencer Long. "We are absolutely heartbroken by the death of Captain Spencer Long and his family," the fire department said. "Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time."
A GoFundMe page appears to connect the sheriff's statement with the fire department and says that Long, his wife Katrina and their three sons - Reid, Thayne and Gage - died in a flash flood incident. The fundraising effort also says that the couple had a daughter whose "life has forever been changed in an instant".