During heavy rains last month, floodwaters swept away a car that carried 2-year-old Xavier Padilla Aguilera and his father, separating the two during a torrential downfall that filled the streets of Barstow with mud and rain. <\/p>\n
The boy\u2019s body was found hours later in the San Bernardino County flood control channel. The Barstow Police Department offered condolences to his family in a statement<\/a> confirming the child\u2019s death, calling it a \u201ctragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n But on Tuesday, police announced they had arrested the young boy\u2019s father, Brandon Padilla-Aguilera, on suspicion of murder.<\/p>\n Barstow police officials revealed few details of their case or what led detectives to suspect foul play in the 2-year-old\u2019s death. But, according to a statement, investigators with the Barstow Police Department continued to look into Xavier\u2019s death after the flooding receded. <\/p>\n \u201cOver the course of the month-long investigation, detectives spoke with witnesses and gathered evidence,\u201d according to a statement<\/a> from police. \u201cBased on evidence obtained, detectives secured an arrest warrant for him.\u201d<\/p>\n During the Sept. 18 storm, emergency crews were called at about 7:14 p.m. to investigate a vehicle that had been swept away by floodwaters in the 24000 block of West Main Street in Barstow. <\/p>\n The vehicle, officials said, had been overtaken by rising waters and carried into a wash north of West Main Street. <\/p>\n Padilla-Aguilera and his son had reportedly gotten out of the car but, at some point, were separated. <\/p>\n Padilla-Aguilera was ultimately found on an island created by the floodwaters, but emergency crews continued to search for more than 20 hours for the 2-year-old boy. <\/p>\n On Friday, Padilla-Aguilera was taken into custody. Officials released no details about the role he might have played in the child\u2019s death. <\/p>\n