{"id":67483,"date":"2015-10-23T14:19:18","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T21:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=67483"},"modified":"2015-10-27T14:26:19","modified_gmt":"2015-10-27T21:26:19","slug":"authorities-palmdale-man-drowned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2015\/10\/23\/authorities-palmdale-man-drowned\/","title":{"rendered":"Authorities: Palmdale man drowned"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fire<\/a>
Fire Department personnel gather at the scene Tuesday, Oct. 20. (Photo by LUIS MEZA.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PALMDALE \u2013 Authorities on Friday said a man who was found dead inside a vehicle that was swamped by mud during the storm that slammed the Antelope Valley last week died of drowning.<\/p>\n

The body of 49-year-old Robert Michael Rasmussen<\/strong> of Palmdale was discovered around 12:50 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, inside a minivan that was buried in a culvert in the 41800 block of Karen Drive in Palmdale. Rasmussen’s body was found when crews dug the vehicle out.<\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/a>
Robert Rasmussen [Facebook photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>An autopsy determined that Rasmussen died of drowning, and his death has been classified as an accident, said coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter.<\/p>\n

Sheriff’s officials said Tuesday the minivan was spotted by a public works employee trying to clear the basin. Residents insisted, however, that they had been pushing authorities to search the area since the Oct. 15 storm, saying they saw a vehicle get swept away during the rainstorm that slammed the Antelope Valley and sent lava-like flows of mud through area streets.<\/p>\n

One resident told ABC7<\/a> she called 911 on the day of the storm to report a vehicle caught in a debris flow and then disappearing. She said she told a dispatcher the vehicle floated for about five minutes, then sank into the debris flow.<\/p>\n

Palmdale City Manager James Purtee said authorities responded to the report, but could not find the vehicle. He said search crews were using 3-foot-long metal poles to probe the mud for any signs of a buried vehicle, but Rasmussen’s minivan was buried by about six feet of mud.<\/p>\n

Search crews “did the best they could do under these emergency conditions,” he said.<\/p>\n

Relatives said Rasmussen was house-sitting in Palmdale for his parents, who were visiting Israel. Rasmussen’s mother, Virginia Driscoll, and her 24-year-old son visited the scene on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

“It must have happened so quick,” Driscoll told ABC7<\/a> at the scene.<\/p>\n

She fought back tears as she remembered her son.<\/p>\n

“Everybody has a certain amount of time here, and apparently this was his time to go,” Driscoll said. “I’ll miss him very much.”<\/p>\n

Authorities on Oct. 20 explain how the body was found<\/strong><\/h3>\n