Bodies of missing Elk Grove mother and baby found underwater
The bodies of a missing Elk Grove mother and her baby were found underwater Sunday in a Central Valley canal, according to volunteer divers.
Whisper Owen, 36, and her 8-month-old daughter Sandra McCarthy were reported missing in July. They were last seen near Fresno on July 15.
Owen’s 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer was found Sunday beneath water under a bridge between Escalon and Oakdale, about 10 miles northeast of Modesto, according to a Facebook post by Adventures With Purpose, a volunteer dive team that helps scour rivers and other bodies of water for missing persons.
Fresno police confirmed that the vehicle pulled from the water of the South San Joaquin Main Canal near Highway 120 and Victory Avenue, on the San Joaquin-Stanislaus county line, belonged to Owens.
A GoFundMe page set up by Owen’s family said the bodies were found after more than 30 days of searching.
According to the Sunday afternoon post by Adventures with Purpose, law enforcement was on the scene and preparing to pull the vehicle from the water. “In a collaboration with Juan Heredia from Angels Recovery, we were able to confirm Whisper is inside the vehicle. She was doing everything she could as a mother to try to save her daughter Sandra,” the post read.
The San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office confirmed a vehicle and two bodies were pulled from the water but could not confirm their identities.
Fresno Police Lt. Larry Bowlan said official identification of the bodies would be released by the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office and the county’s coroner.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating how the vehicle ended up in the water.
The Fresno Bee’s Anthony Galaviz contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 17, 2025 at 4:25 PM with the headline "Bodies of missing Elk Grove mother and baby found underwater."
