A mother whose son was swept away in rushing floodwaters during a torrential rainstorm Monday night was so distraught to learn he hadn’t been rescued, she let go of the concrete barrier she had been clinging to, saying she didn’t want to live.
Denver Fire Department spokesman Lt. Phil Champagne described as “rapid and violent” the storm that hit Denver on Monday night around 7:30 p.m., trapping the mother and her 2-year-old son in a concrete underpass near Howard Place and Decatur Street, a few blocks south of Invesco Field at Mile High.
The two had been on their usual afternoon walk in Rude Park, according to the child’s great-aunt, Julie Guzman, who spoke at a press conference this afternoon.
The mother, Elsha Guel, took shelter under an underpass to escape the sudden hail, when storm water, in what Champagne described as a “concrete canyon,” began to rise.
“As waters grew more swift, she was knocked down,” he said. “The exits and entrances were such a long way away. There was no area for retreat.
“You can only imagine the horror of the mother” as her baby’s stroller was ripped out of her hands, he said.
When the first rescue crews arrived, she was clinging to a concrete barrier. They attempted to lower a ladder to save her and then attempted to send in a diver, but the water was too swift, Champagne said.
“All she wanted to know was if her baby had been rescued,” he said. Firefighters had to tell her “no,” and “per the department’s protocols, we had to rescue the most visible victim – that was her.”
“She let go of the barrier and said she no longer wanted to live without her child,” Champagne said.
Rescuers were able to catch her approximately 200 yards down Lakewood Gulch, but were unable to find any sign of the boy. A child’s stroller was found later in the South Platte River, roughly 1½ miles away. Champagne said firefighters weren’t positive that it was the same stroller.
The boy was identified as Jose Matthew Jauregui Jr. The family lives just two blocks from the underpass.
“Our family is in shock, and we’re devastated with this tragic accident,” said Guzman.
She thanked the police officers and firefighters who helped in the search.
“We just ask that you let us grieve and keep us in your thoughts and prayers,” she said, noting that the family’s only interest is in finding the boy’s body.
Champagne said 26 firefighters joined the search Monday night. The recovery search today has extended downriver into Adams County, about 7 miles away. Champagne said the recovery process includes searching backwater eddies and around objects in the river, with divers using poles.
A second person is believed to have drowned in the same flash flooding Monday night. Reports of a teenage male floating in Gold Smith Gulch near the High Line Canal at Quebec Street and Yale Avenue prompted Denver police officer Jairon Katz to jump into the water. He was unable to find the young man and had to be pulled from the water by Denver firefighters.
Champagne said authorities have not been able to identify a missing man from that area, prompting rescuers to consider that he might have been a runaway.
His body has not been recovered.
