Authorities release identity of body recovered from Merced River
Update:
The Merced County Sheriff Coroner’s Office said it had positively identified a body recovered from the Merced River on Sunday, as that of Jagdeep Singh Riar, according to a Merced County Sheriff’s Office social media post.
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Jagdeep’s family during this difficult time,” read a portion of the social media post.
According to authorities, the 17-year-old was last seen on May 11, when he disappeared in the Merced River in the McConnell State Recreation Area. The Merecd County Sheriff’s Office said it responded to an area of the Merced River about one mile downstream from Hagaman Park on Sunday, where they pulled an unresponsive male from the water.
Here is our original story:
The body of an unresponsive male pulled from the Merced River on Sunday may be that of a teen who went missing in the river earlier this month, according to authorities.
At about 4:17 p.m., deputies with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office Water Rescue and Recovery Team responded to an area of the Merced River to recover the body of an unresponsive male from the water, according to the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.
The location where the body was recovered is about one mile downstream from Hagaman Park.
Authorities said at the time of the recovery they were unable to make a positive identification of the body, but that the male matches the description a 17-year-old Livingston teenager who went missing after he was swept away in the river on May 11.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office posted an update on social media Sunday night which read in part “our thoughts are with his family. We know it has not been an easy week, however, we hope to provide closure to the family soon.”
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to an area of the Merced River near Snelling on Saturday to rescue a kayaker who was stranded in the middle of the river. Last week, deputies and Cal Fire personnel responded to the Merced River in Snelling to rescue two people who were clinging to a tree in the middle of the river.
Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke announced a closure to both the Merced River and San Joaquin River last week due to dangerous conditions. Authorities said due to snow melting in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, there has been an increase in the amount of water released into Merced County waterways. The result has caused cold, swift moving water and people are advised to stay out of rivers, creeks and canals, according to the authorities.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Merced County Sheriff’s Office at 209-385-7445.
