The names of 17 victims of the flooding and mudslides in Montecito were released Thursday by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
The names of 17 victims of the flooding and mudslides in Montecito were released Thursday by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The victims range in age from 3 years old to 89 and all were residents of Montecito. The cause of death for all is listed as “Multiple traumatic injuries due to flash flood with mudslides due to recent wildfire.” The names were released following the notification of next of kin.”The Sheriff’s Office wants to express our heartfelt sadness to the family and friends of those who lost their loved ones,” the department wrote in a statement releasing the names. “We request that you respect their privacy during this most difficult time.”Santa Barbara County authorities sent a shudder through the community early Thursday when they reported that the number of people unaccounted for had surged to 48. But later in the morning, they said the large number was due to a clerical error and the number of missing was eight. Later in the day, however, officials reported at a news conference that there were 43 missing. Here are the names of those who died:Jonathan Benitez, age 10Kailly Benitez, 3Martin Cabrera-Munoz, 48David Cantin, 49Sawyer Corey, 12Peter Fleurat, 73Josephine Gower, 69John McManigal, 61Alice Mitchell, 78James Mitchell, 89Mark Montgomery, 54Caroline Montgomery, 22Marilyn Ramos, 27Rebecca Riskin, 61Roy Rohter, 84Peerawat Sutthithepn, 6Richard Taylor, 67
