California mudslide: Rescuers search for survivors; death toll rises to 19

The death toll from the mudslides in a California coastal town rose to 19 today but a man who had also been on the list of missing persons was located alive, authorities said.
The body of Morgan Christine Corey, 25, was found in mud and debris in Montecito, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. Her 12-year-old sister, Sawyer, had been found dead earlier.

"We ask that you keep this devastated family in your thoughts and prayers," Brown said.
Another person who had been on the list of missing, 62- year-old Delbert Weltzin, was found alive and well, Brown said without elaborating on the circumstances. The two developments reduced the number of missing from seven to five.

"While every hour it remains less likely that we will find anyone alive, there is always hope," the sheriff said. The army of searchers and recovery workers in Montecito swelled to more than 2,000 five days after a powerful storm swept in from the Pacific and dumped a deluge on mountain slopes above the coastal enclave that were burned bare by a huge wildfire in December.

The backbreaking work went on in the summerlike weather that has made the stretch of Santa Barbara County coast about 145 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles a haven for the wealthy, celebrities and tourists.
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