The search for a missing Kern County man who was swept away by flash floods that hit the area last week has been delayed until Saturday, because wet and muddy conditions make the search area too dangerous, officials said.
Richard Harvell, 67, was camping with a friend Oct. 15 at a flash flood zone of the Tehachapi Mountains when a powerful thunderstorm hit, sending mud, water and debris down the mountainside.
Harvell, of Boron, tried to get into his truck but was quickly washed away by mud and water, his daughter Susan Garcia said Monday.
Family and friends of Harvell have joined the Kern County Sheriff's Department in his search, and they are hopeful that he will be found.
"We're not going to give up hope until they find him one way or another," she said.
Kern County Sheriff's Department rescue team has been using cadaver dogs to search of Harvell, Garcia said, but his family hopes he will be found alive.
Harvell, a Vietnam War veteran, knew how to survive in the rugged desert and could "definitely be able to live off the grid if he had to," Garcia said.
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"If it's possible for someone to survive this, it would be him," she said.
Roads, homes and vehicles were affected by the heavy mudflow.
On Monday Crews hauled away the last of the vehicles buried in mud on State Route 58 in Kern County, 110 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. However, tons of hardened mud still needs to be removed and drainage systems cleared before lanes could reopen, officials said.
