Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Young Victims Swept Away in Kings River Torrent Are Identified
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 2 years ago on
May 23, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office has identified the victims in Sunday’s fatal tragedy on the Kings River as 4-year-old Santiago Barajas, and his sister, 8-year-old Victoria Barajas, of Fresno.

Rescuers recovered Santiago’s body from the Kings River at about 11 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Botti said in an email that county fire personnel on a boat saw the boy beneath the water caught against a tree.

A firefighter was deployed into the water and recovered the body about 1.75 miles from where he initially went in on Sunday, Botti said.

Search-and-rescue personnel previously recovered  Victoria’s body on Sunday. The siblings were carried away by a fast-moving current driven by high water levels, authorities said.

Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters responded around 2 p.m. Sunday to an area of the river near Sanger, about a mile from Pine Flat Dam, the sheriff’s office said.

Victoria was found dead less than an hour later by rescuers using boats and a helicopter. They did not immediately say how the child died. She was found about one-fifth of mile from where she entered the water, Botti said.

Rivers Closed Due to Danger

The children, who were not wearing life jackets, entered the water with their mother and another adult while trying to make their way to climb on a specific rock.

The Kings and San Joaquin rivers have been closed to recreational users since March 14 because heavy winter storms and melting snow created high water levels and hazardous conditions, the sheriff’s department said.

“Numerous closure signs are placed along the waterways informing the public of the importance of staying out of the water,” the department said.

Warming weather is melting huge amounts of accumulated snow in the mountains that accumulated in a series of epic winter storms.

“The conditions of our waterways will only become more dangerous heading into summer as snow melts and dams release even more water into the rivers,” the sheriff’s office said. “The water remains cold, in the low 50s, the current is swift and trees serve as dangerous obstacles.

(Associated Press contributed to this story.)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

DON'T MISS

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

DON'T MISS

Sean Combs Sues NBC Over Documentary That He Says Defamed Him

DON'T MISS

European Detour Destinations Are 2025’s New Travel Trend

DON'T MISS

California’s Aging Population Will Test Whether Its Demography Is Destiny

DON'T MISS

A Former Firefighter in the Legislature Has Ideas. Will Democrats Listen?

DON'T MISS

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

DON'T MISS

NAACP Urges Support for Companies Upholding DEI Commitments

DON'T MISS

Rape Lawsuit Against Jay-Z and Diddy Dropped, Legal Battles Continue for Combs

DON'T MISS

Big Homeowner Rate Hike From State Farm Shot Down by California Regulator

UP NEXT

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

UP NEXT

Sean Combs Sues NBC Over Documentary That He Says Defamed Him

UP NEXT

European Detour Destinations Are 2025’s New Travel Trend

UP NEXT

California’s Aging Population Will Test Whether Its Demography Is Destiny

UP NEXT

A Former Firefighter in the Legislature Has Ideas. Will Democrats Listen?

UP NEXT

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

UP NEXT

NAACP Urges Support for Companies Upholding DEI Commitments

UP NEXT

Rape Lawsuit Against Jay-Z and Diddy Dropped, Legal Battles Continue for Combs

UP NEXT

Big Homeowner Rate Hike From State Farm Shot Down by California Regulator

UP NEXT

Draymond Green on the State of the NBA: It’s ‘Boring,’ the Warriors Star Says

European Detour Destinations Are 2025’s New Travel Trend

11 hours ago

California’s Aging Population Will Test Whether Its Demography Is Destiny

11 hours ago

A Former Firefighter in the Legislature Has Ideas. Will Democrats Listen?

12 hours ago

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

24 hours ago

NAACP Urges Support for Companies Upholding DEI Commitments

1 day ago

Rape Lawsuit Against Jay-Z and Diddy Dropped, Legal Battles Continue for Combs

1 day ago

Big Homeowner Rate Hike From State Farm Shot Down by California Regulator

1 day ago

Draymond Green on the State of the NBA: It’s ‘Boring,’ the Warriors Star Says

1 day ago

DOJ Seeks to Drop Corruption Case Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

1 day ago

US Deports Immigrants to Venezuela After Judge Blocked Transfer to Guantanamo Bay

1 day ago

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

Royal Caribbean International is set to make history by basing a cruise ship in San Diego for the first time. Starting October 2026, Serenad...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

11 hours ago

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

11 hours ago

Sean Combs Sues NBC Over Documentary That He Says Defamed Him

11 hours ago

European Detour Destinations Are 2025’s New Travel Trend

11 hours ago

California’s Aging Population Will Test Whether Its Demography Is Destiny

12 hours ago

A Former Firefighter in the Legislature Has Ideas. Will Democrats Listen?

24 hours ago

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

1 day ago

NAACP Urges Support for Companies Upholding DEI Commitments

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend