Trapped in mud local couple says an ‘angel’ made a Montecito rescue

A Montecito couple has a local man on a work crew in the mudflow disaster zone to thank for saving them from tragic circumstances.

Bernard Sandler and Lori Saunders were walking from their home on January 9 after the rain event that coated the area in a thick runoff out of their nearby creek.

They were walking to a store to get some medicine and a shortcut through an orchard ended up being a bad idea. They had a sinking feeling as the steps became harder and deeper. Then they couldn’t lift their legs from the muck

Sandler said, “I didn’t think we were going to make it and it was the last day of our lives and we were going to die like this.”

The two were close but not even within arms reach of each other.

Saunders said, “There was literally no way out. It was getting deeper and deeper.”

We waved at helicopters overhead “And I started screaming at the top of my lungs ‘help, help!'” said Sandler. For two hours that did not work.

Then a Lash construction worker nearby named Angel Beltran heard them and said “I will come and get you. You will be OK, ” said Sandler. “For him to walk about 100 feet it took about an hour.”

Beltran trudged through the mud for the next hour before he could physically reach them. He made sure they were stabilized and made a plan to have a piece of heavy equipment come through to lift them out.

Saunders who starred in the 1960’s TV show Petticoat Junction was always involved in upbeat comedy skits, but if this could have been a serious reality show. It had all the risk and drama anyone could ask for.

“He put me in the skip loader,” said Saunders. ” And he put his arm around me and said ‘you’re OK’, and then I lost it because I was so scared. I wasn’t scared until I was safe.”

It brings Sandler to tears because the couple was two days away from their 57th wedding anniversary.

They have since reunited with Beltran and bonded again over an Italian dinner at Santa Barbara’s Chase restaurant downtown. Sandler said he plans stay in touch with the 27-year old and help him with his life goals ahead.

For this couple an ‘angel’ named Angel was their saving grace in the frightening moments of the Montecito mud flow catastrophe.

“He risked his life to save our life. He is a true hero,” said Sandler.