An 8-year-old girl is dead and her 4-year-old brother is missing after they were swept away Sunday in a California river that is closed to recreational users due to high water levels, authorities said.
The siblings were with their mother and her friend at the Kings River, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. All entered the water off the shoreline about a mile away from the Pine Flat Dam, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“The group was trying make their way out to a specific rock to climb on when the current carried the kids away,” the sheriff’s office said. “Neither were wearing life jackets.”
The children were swept downstream shortly before 2 p.m., according to the statement. Deputies and firefighters with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responded with rescue boats.
The body of the 8-year-old girl was found less than an hour into the search, and the search for the 4-year-old boy is ongoing, the sheriff’s office said. Their names have not been released.
Details on the status of their mother and her friend were not immediately clear.
Kings River has been closed to recreational users since March 14, according to the statement. The decision to close the central California river to recreational users was made after heavy winter storms and melting snow created high water levels, making it dangerous. There are multiple closure signs placed along the waterways warning the public to stay out of the water, and refusal to do so comes with a minimum fine of $225, the sheriff’s office said.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is warning swimmers that the river’s conditions will worsen in the summer.
“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 water remains cold, in the low 50s, the current is swift and trees serve as dangerous obstacles,” the sheriff’s office said.
The river’s water levels are being monitored on a daily basis, and officials said it will reopen once the dangerous conditions subside.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
