Loved ones are searching for a missing Southern California woman whose home was swept away during Tropical Storm Hilary.
The missing woman, 74-year-old Christie Rockwood, is a resident of Angelus Oaks and was last seen on Aug. 20, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Rockwood’s mobile home in the Seven Oaks Village area was “overwhelmed by rising river water and her residence was swept away from its foundation,” authorities said.
Debris from her home was found nearby, but only the home’s foundation was left at the site.
Rockwood’s daughter, Tracey Monteverde, said she knows her mother was inside the home during the storm and is hopeful she’s still alive.
“I know she didn’t leave because her car was still there and she lived alone,” Monteverde said. “She only had one car and myself and other people that had talked to her before that, that got late into the night. She was still there.”
Loved ones are searching for Christie Rockwood, 74, a missing SoCal woman whose home was swept away during Tropical Storm Hilary on Aug. 20, 2023. (San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department) 
Loved ones are searching for Christie Rockwood, 74, a missing SoCal woman whose home was swept away during Tropical Storm Hilary on Aug. 20, 2023. (Rockwood Family) 
Loved ones are searching for Christie Rockwood, 74, a missing SoCal woman whose home was swept away during Tropical Storm Hilary on Aug. 20, 2023. (Rockwood Family) 
Loved ones are searching for Christie Rockwood, 74, a missing SoCal woman whose home was swept away during Tropical Storm Hilary on Aug. 20, 2023. (Rockwood Family) 
Loved ones are searching for Christie Rockwood, 74, a missing SoCal woman whose home was swept away during Tropical Storm Hilary on Aug. 20, 2023. (Rockwood Family)
Rockwood’s family hasn’t received any contact from her since her home was washed away in the flowing mud and debris.
Search and rescue teams have scoured the area, but Rockwood is still nowhere to be found.
“They said on Monday afternoon that they had found parts of her trailer and maybe some of her shed because she had bins of photos and they found a pile of photos, like a bin had been tipped over,” Monteverde said. “I did see a shoe, one of her shoes. They sent me a picture. But from what I understand, it went down about three and a half miles from where [her home] stood. So if you can imagine that kind of stuff just everywhere.”
As the search for her mother continues, Monteverde is holding onto hope that her mother will be found alive.
“We still have hope,” she said. “My mom’s really tough. She’s been through a lot in her life and if there’s one person that’s sitting out there, that would be her.”
Rockwood is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 265 pounds with short red hair. She has a tattoo of a butterfly with a pink breast cancer ribbon on the inside of her wrist.
Anyone who may have seen Rockwood or has information related to the search is asked to call Deputy E. Juarez or Detective S. Swanson at the Yucaipa Sheriff’s Station at 909-918-2305. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-782-7463 or online at wetip.com.
