9-year-old slips on rock and vanishes into dangerous California river. Search ongoing
Update: A child’s body was recovered on April 7 in the Kern River — five days after the 9-year-old first went missing, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said. The coroner’s office identified the body as the missing child, KGET reported.
Original story:
A 9-year-old boy is missing after he was swept away in a dangerous California river, the sheriff’s department said.
The boy slipped off a rock into the Kern River on Saturday, April 2, Kern County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lori Meza told McClatchy News.
He was swept away in the section of the river in Keyesville, Meza said.
Multiple children were about knee-deep in the river playing in a wading area when the boy slipped into the water, she said.
One adult was in the water supervising the children and tried to rescue the boy, she said.
Authorities were called around 2:18 p.m. — about 20 minutes after the child had been in the water, Meza said.
“Kern River is very deceiving and only professionals or people guided by professionals should get in the water,” she said.
A sign reading “Stay out and stay safe” also warns visitors of the waters at the mouth of the Kern River Canyon.
She encouraged any children playing in the Kern River to wear a flotation device and to have many adults present in the case of an emergency.
“The problem with the Kern River is that the surface looks calm and inviting, but it’s a raging torrent below the surface,” one Tripadvisor user wrote about the river. “Many unsuspecting swimmers get pulled under and caught on tree branches or wedged between rocks.”
Search and rescue efforts began the day he went missing as rescuers looked for the child by boat, The Bakersfield Californian reported.
By Monday, April 4, rescuers did not find the child after searching for him by foot and by helicopter, the outlet reported.
Keyesville is about 45 miles northeast of Bakersfield.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 1:07 PM with the headline "9-year-old slips on rock and vanishes into dangerous California river. Search ongoing."
