Rory Sykes, Child Disabilities Advocate and Media Personality, Dies in Los Angeles Wildfire at 32

Rory Sykes, who made several media appearances and motivational speeches as a boy challenged by blindness and cerebral palsy, died from carbon monoxide inhalation as his mother tried to save him from his Malibu cottage that was caught up in the early devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires, Shelley Sykes wrote on X. He was 32.

“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday,” she wrote, adding that he was born in Great Britain and had been living in Australia, but only recently relocated to the U.S. She said Sykes had his own cottage on the family’s 17-acre Mount Malibu estate, which burnt down on Jan. 8.

“I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off by Las Virgenes Municipal Water,” she wrote. “Even the 50 brave fire fighters had no water all day! He will be incredibly missed.”

She told Australian outlet 10 News First that she “couldn’t stop the flames taking over,” couldn’t lift or move him out because of her broken arm, and that he succumbed to carbon monoxide inhalation while she ran for help.

“[Rory] was born blind with cerebral palsy & had difficulty walking,” she wrote. “He overcame so much with surgeries & therapies to regain his sight & to be able to learn to walk. Despite the pain, he still enthused about traveling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica. [He] was a sought after inspirational speaker for [Tony Robbins] when he was only 8 years old.”

It was not clear whether Sykes was considered among the 13 confirmed deaths since the L.A. wildfires broke out on Tuesday.

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