SLO County sheriff uses helicopter to search for missing boy swept away by floodwaters

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office used a helicopter on Friday to search the Salinas River for 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was swept away by floodwaters during a January storm, the agency said via Twitter.

The Lillian Larson Elementary School kindergarten student and his mother, a special education teacher there, were on their way to school Jan. 9 when their car was overtaken by water from the San Marcos Creek.

Bystanders were able to save Doan’s mom, but Kyle disappeared in the current.

Multiple law enforcement agencies have searched for the missing San Luis Obispo County boy since then.

In January, searchers recovered a lunchbox, laptop, DVDs and a school ID from the car, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Cipolla previously told The Tribune.

A small Nike shoe was also found, Cipolla said.

Friday’s efforts involved an “aerial search of the Salinas River north to the Pacific Ocean,” the Sheriff’s Office said via Twitter.

The San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office’s Air Support Unit assisted with Friday’s search, according to the Tweet.