2 children dead after being swept away by California river

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. — An 8-year-old girl died on Sunday and a 4-year-old boy was found dead a day later after they were swept away in a central California river, authorities said.

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The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the children were near the swift waters of the Kings River, KFSN-TV reported.

Update 3:52 p.m. EDT May 22: Crews discovered the body of an 4-year-old boy who was swept away in the Kings River, a day after his 8-year-old sister’s body was found.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said that Cal Fire Fresno County personnel were on a boat when they saw the boy against a tree beneath the water on Monday, KFSN-TV reported. The boy was nearly two miles downstream from where he initially went in the river on Sunday, according to the television station.

“This water does not care who you are, it does not care how good of a swimmer you think you are,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Lt. Brandon Pursell told KMPH-TV. “If you get stuck in this current, it is going to take you.”

According to the sheriff’s office, the children’s family was having a gathering near the dam. The group was trying to reach a specific rock to climb on when the current carried the boy and girl away, the television station reported. The children were not wearing life jackets, the sheriff’s office said.

Original report: Deputies were called shortly before 2 p.m. PDT Sunday to the bottom of the Pine Flat Dam, according to the television station. Police spokesperson Tony Botti said the two children were reportedly missing near the river, just below the dam, the Fresno Bee reported.

Deputies confirmed finding the dead girl about an hour after being called to the scene, according to KFNS.

Water rescue teams continue to search for the boy, KMPH-TV reported.

Deputies have not said how the girl died, according to KFSN.