California authorities say finding missing 5-year-old is ‘top priority’ as search resumes Wednesday morning

California authorities will resume their search for a 5-year-old boy who went missing near San Miguel earlier this week, saying it was a “top priority” for search and rescue teams.

Kyle Doan, a 5-year-old kindergarten student at Lillian Larsen Elementary School in San Miguel, was separated from his family on Monday, Jan. 9, after being swept away by flash floods in Central California following days of torrential rains that caused catastrophic. flood.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said an effort to find him will resume “first thing” Wednesday morning.

“Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue operations continue to search for missing 5-year-old Kyle Doan. While he has not yet been located, the search remains our top priority as weather conditions permit. We will update the public with any information regarding hereby. search,” the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.

CALIFORNIA FLOODING: SEARCH INTENSIFIES FOR KYLE DOAN, MISSING SON WAS CARVED BY RUSHING WATER

Kyle Doan, 5, who has been missing since Monday, Jan. 5, after being thrown from his family’s vehicle by flooding. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office)

Search and rescue teams tried to find the 5-year-old on Monday, but called off their search around 3 p.m. citing rising Salinas River levels.

“Search operations had to be suspended yesterday after approximately five hours because the extreme weather conditions were making it unsafe for first responders to continue their efforts,” Tony Cipolla of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Tuesday.

He added: “A break in the intense storms is allowing today’s search which will involve all available resources of the Sheriff’s Office, including the USAR (Underwater Search and Rescue) team and air operations.”

Another search resumed on Tuesday but was also called off in dangerous conditions.

“Conditions, however, remain extremely dangerous. The water level is high and continues to move rapidly,” Cipolla said Tuesday morning.

Search and rescue teams continue to locate a shoe belonging to missing 5-year-old Kyle Doan. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office)

5-YEAR-OLD CALIFORNIA BOY DRAWN INTO FLOOD WATERS BY MOM FROM LOCKED TRUCK

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has warned members of the public not to run their own checks.

“The public is strongly cautioned not to conduct self-initiated searches and not to put themselves at risk and become a victim seeking resources that would otherwise be used for research,” he added.

Kyle is described as having short dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. He is approximately four feet tall and weighs 52 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black jacket with a red lining, blue jeans, blue and gray Nike tennis shoes, the sheriff’s office said.

He has not been declared dead.

“We always have hope and we never want to take that hope away from the parents of the child,” Cipolla told Fox News Digital.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER CONDITIONS CONTINUE IN CALIFORNIA AS TENS OF THOUSANDS ARE FORCED TO EVACUATE

The superintendent of the San Miguel Common Union School District told The Tribune that they were “hoping for a miracle.”

Search crews are continuing to find missing 5-year-old Kyle Doan, who was taken from his family’s vehicle after becoming trapped in floodwaters near San Miguel, California. (San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office)

“Our staff is heartbroken over this tragedy,” Superintendent Karen Grandoli said Monday night. “I think we’re still hoping for a miracle, but it’s not looking good.”

The boy went missing Monday morning after a truck his mother was driving got stuck in floodwaters just before 8 a.m. near Paso Robles, according to Tom Swanson, assistant chief of the Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department. .

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Bystanders helped pull the mother from the truck, but the boy was ejected from the vehicle and swept downstream by floodwaters, Swanson told The Associated Press.

Flooding in California has left at least 17 people dead and more than 200,000 homes and businesses without power. Thousands of California residents remain under flood warnings.

Fox News’ Greg Norman and Sarah Rumpf contributed to this report.