Global Courant 2023-05-24 18:49:25
A missing 4-year-old boy who was dragged into a raging California river with his 8-year-old sister last weekend was found dead Monday, a day after searchers found the girl’s body, authorities said.
Rescue crews spotted the boy underwater against a tree in the Kings River, about 1.75 miles from where he and his sister first entered the turbulent water on Sunday, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said.
The search for the siblings began around 2 p.m. Sunday after the pair fell into the cold river and were swept downstream, officials said.
The children had entered the water with their mother and her adult boyfriend about a mile from Pine Flat Dam while trying to climb a specific rock, the sheriff’s office said.
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Searchers found the body of the 4-year-old boy stuck against a tree under the water on Monday morning. (Fresno County Sheriff’s Office)
Neither child was wearing a life jacket.
Cal Fire deputies and firefighters responded with lifeboats and began a search.
The body of the 8-year-old girl was found on Sunday less than an hour after the current carried her away. (Fresno County Sheriff’s Office)
Less than an hour later, the 8-year-old girl was found dead about 0.2 miles from where the current carried her away. Her brother, however, remained missing.
On Monday morning, about 40 rescuers continued the search for the missing boy using boats, a remote-controlled vehicle in the water, drones and a helicopter.
The children, their mother and her adult boyfriend headed into the turbulent King River about a mile from Pine Flat Dam, officials said. (Fresno County Sheriff’s Office)
Additional information about the children’s deaths was not immediately released.
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Both the Kings and San Joaquin Rivers have been closed to recreational users since March.
Authorities warned that “severe winter storms and melting snow… have caused high water levels and hazardous conditions.”
“The water remains cold, below 50, the current is fast and trees serve as dangerous obstacles,” the sheriff’s office said.
The rivers will remain closed until “extremely dangerous conditions” improve, officials said.
