Baby swept from parents after car crashes into river, CA cops say. Body found
A baby boy swept away from his parents after their car crashed into a river has been found dead, California officials say.
The 9-month-old, identified by rescuers as Oliver Cox, was recovered from the Trinity River in Big Bar on May 6, California Highway Patrol said in a news release.
River crash
The boy was in a Lexus sedan with his 19-year-old mother and 21-year-old father as they drove on State Route 299 the early morning hours of May 1, Keith Krick, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
The mother was driving when the car “traveled off the road, down an embankment, and into the Trinity River,” officials said.
The couple tried to free themselves and their baby from the submerged car, Krick said.
But, “at some point, the baby was swept away,” Krick said.
The mother and father suffered moderate injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital, officials said.
Neither drugs nor alcohol is considered to be a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation, according to officials.
Search for Oliver
Trinity County Search and Rescue said a team spent days looking for Oliver, according to a Facebook post from the nonprofit.
Rescuers said they, along with a number of additional agencies, meticulously scoured “the river banks by land, water and air.”
The terrain, however, proved “extremely challenging” and was “steep, rocky and in some areas impassable,” rescuers said.
Many of the rescuers who searched for Oliver are also parents, the nonprofit said.
“The thought of a family having to go through this is unfathomable and extremely heartbreaking,” rescuers said.
Oliver found
Days after searching the river, a diver found the boy’s body in the river Tuesday, May 6, rescuers said in a Facebook post.
Trinity County deputies were notified, and “Oliver was removed from the river,” rescuers said.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Oliver,” rescuers said.
Oliver’s aunt described him as “joyful” in an interview with Action News Now.
“He was always playful, always happy to see everybody,” Michelle Huskey told the news outlet. “He loved his mommy more than anything.”
Big Bar is about a 230-mile drive northwest from Sacramento.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Baby swept from parents after car crashes into river, CA cops say. Body found."
