Dive team locates body of man swept under by swift current of Kings River

A Fresno County Sheriff’s dive team Tuesday morning located the body of a man who was swept away by water in the Kings River Monday afternoon.

He was identified as Baltazar Lopez, 48, of Selma, according to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.

The sheriff’s office received reports of a man swept underwater at Laton-Kingston Park about 3:20 p.m. Monday, sheriff’s spokesman Tony Botti said. The park was full with Labor Day holiday celebrations.

The sheriff’s boating unit and a helicopter searched the river until around 7:30 p.m. before calling off the effort for the day. The search was resumed early Tuesday and Lopez’s body was found about 8:15 a.m. in water 5-10 feet deep, a short distance from the beach where he entered the river, Botti said.

Witnesses said Lopez was swimming with his teenage son when he was caught up in swift water, Botti said, adding that deputies determined Lopez was not a good swimmer and was not wearing a life jacket.

This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 9:10 AM.