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Mudslides trap drivers; boy is missing after car is washed away
Los Angeles Times
|September 20, 2025
A late summer storm system that brought heavy rain to parts of the Southland triggered mudslides in San Bernardino and washed away a vehicle in the Inland Empire, triggering a frantic search for a 2-year-old boy.
A VEHICLE carried by mud comes to rest outside a Forest Falls home. Two homes have been red-tagged.
The downpour arrived Thursday afternoon and dumped several inches of water across San Bernardino County's mountains and foothills, creating isolated pockets of danger and chaos that first-responders scrambled to reach.
The family of 2-year-old Xavier Padilla said he hasn't been seen since he was riding in a car with his father and the vehicle was swept away. The boy's father managed to escape but the boy is still missing, according to a Barstow Police Department news release.
“We have a bunch of volunteers out here who are still looking,” Xavier’s aunt, Leanna, told KABC.
Xavier’s disappearance occurred amid a late summer monsoon storm system — remnants of Tropical Storm Mario—that brought sweltering heat and unpredictable showers and thunderstorms to the region.
In Forest Falls, Anton Sommer’s cellphone was down to 1% Friday and he said it was unclear when the power would be restored to his neighborhood, one of several mountain communities affected by mudslides.
This story is from the September 20, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
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