Diving Teams, Dog Continue Search for 2 Compton Boys

Four diving teams and a dog trained in water searches continued to comb the Merced River in Yosemite National Park on Monday for two young Compton boys who presumably drowned after the car their aunt was driving plunged into the rushing waters.

The aunt, Elaine Watson, 44, drove into the river early Saturday morning after falling asleep at the wheel on the final stretch of a journey from Compton for a traditional Memorial Day weekend gathering in the park with other family members.

Yosemite Ranger Russell Marsh said the children, Mario Thomas, 3, and his brother, Lance Thomas Jr., 5, jumped from the hood of the car into the river as passersby pulled their 7-year-old sister, Sequoia, to safety with a rope.

“The two boys thought that was how you are saved--you jump into the water,” Marsh said. “Had they not jumped, they would have been rescued.”

Although the water was only 4 1/2 feet deep, its currents were so swift that “you don’t have a chance to stay afloat,” Marsh said.

Watson jumped into the water to save her nephews and also drowned. Her body was recovered. The youngsters’ grandmother, Pearl Watson Jordon, 62, also a passenger, waited on top of the car and was rescued by park rangers.

Authorities said divers concentrated their efforts on a pool about a mile downstream from the accident where Mario’s long-sleeved shirt was found.

The boys’ parents were identified as Lisa Thomas, 29, of Compton, who was not in the park, and Lance Thomas, who is in Los Angeles County Jail on murder charges.

The accident occurred in Yosemite Valley, not far from the reserved cabin the family was headed to for the weekend.