Shelley Sykes, the mother of young actor Rory Callum Sykes, has expressed profound grief over the loss of her son who perished in the Los Angeles wildfires.
Rory, aged 32, found himself trapped in his cottage, located on his mother Shelley’s estate, as the Palisades Fire ravaged the area, leading to the destruction of his home.
Despite being blind and battling cerebral palsy, Rory achieved fame on the British RTV show “Kiddy Kapers” in 1998 and won the hearts of many. He overcame numerous health challenges, eventually learning to walk, run, and see.
On Thursday, January 9, Shelley took to Twitter to announce the tragic news of her son’s passing. She posted: “It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday,” she shared on social media.
“I’m totally heart broken. British born Australian living in America, a wonderful son, a gift born on mine & his grandmas birthday 29 July 92, Rory Callum Sykes. @rorysykes was the founder with me of @happycharity a true humanitarian. He saw him self as the number one fan of @Apple & @tim_cook & most importantly an avid @RuneScape gamer!”
In a heartfelt conversation with 10 News First, Shelley recounted the final words exchanged with her son during her desperate attempt to save him.
“He was my baby and he died needlessly,” she said.
“Guess what didn’t work? 911, all the phone lines were down.”
Shelley emotionally revealed Rory’s last words: “He said ‘Mom leave me’, and… no mom can leave their kid. And I couldn’t, I’ve got a broken arm, I couldn’t move him, I couldn’t lift him.”
Driven by panic, Rory’s mother traveled 400 meters through dense smoke to a local fire station to seek assistance, only to be told they lacked resources to combat the fire.
“They said ‘We’ve got no water’, and I said ‘Oh my god, my son is locked in his room,'” Shelley recounted to the TV station.
“When the fire department brought me back his cottage was burnt to the ground.
“He died with carbon monoxide poison rather than burning… I didn’t want any pain for my baby.”
The interview was filled with raw emotion, capturing Shelley’s grief just days after Rory’s passing.
The death toll from the fires has climbed to 11, with over 153,000 residents ordered to evacuate their homes.
The fires began on Tuesday with the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires igniting across the city. The Palisades Fire has since consumed 21,596 acres with only 11 percent containment and continues to spread eastward between Malibu and Santa Monica.
The Eaton Fire has burned 14,117 acres with 15 percent containment, the Kenneth Fire has affected 1,052 acres with 80 percent containment, and the Hurst Fire has damaged 799 acres with 76 percent contained.
The Lidia Fire, which scorched 395 acres, is now fully contained, while the latest Archer Fire spans 19 acres and remains without containment.