On January 9, 2023, Lindsy Doan was driving her 5-year-old son Kyle to school. It had been raining in the area, but the water flowing over San Marcos Road didn't look different from the day before, so she drove through. What she didn't realize was that the creek was much higher from recent rainstorms, and as she drove across, the water pushed her car off the bridge and into the creek, slamming it up against a tree. Lindsy and Kyle got out of the car, and as she held onto a tree and to Kyle, the floodwaters washed him away from her arms.
A desperate search for Kyle was launched, but it's been nearly 4 months, and Kyle's body still hasn't been recovered.
Initially, search efforts were provided by state and county officials, but now the family is holding private searches using K9 teams. The costs to continue searching is high, and the family says they are limited on funds. Lindsy says she's on disability, and Brian Doan, Kyle's father says he is unable to work full-time and keep up the search for his son at the same time.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department says it is planning a "major search" working alongside CalOES. However, the Sheriff's Department could not provide a date saying they are still waiting for water to recede. I asked CalOES when it last had contact with the Sheriff's Department, and a spokesman said, “I will have to get back to you,” but he never did.
At a press conference on May 1, 2023, I asked Governor Gavin Newsom whether he had spoken to Kyle's parents or if his office was doing anything to support the efforts. He said, “I was down there…and when we were asked to no longer participate in the search, we abided by that.” Newsom never fully answered my questions, nor did his office clarify who or what entity requested him to back off the search.