Body recovered from ponding basin in Fresno County identified

CARUTHERS, Calif. (FOX26) — A water rescue operation ended following hours of searching for a swimmer who never surfaced from a ponding basin Monday afternoon in Fresno County.

According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, a father, his son, and a friend went swimming near Conejo and West Avenues south of Caruthers.

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Deputies say the three agreed to return to shore but the father went under the water and never came back up.

Officials with the sheriff’s office and Cal Fire spent hours looking for the man identified as 34-year-old Jose Carillo of Caruthers.

Deputies say the ponding basin is created by runoff water from flowing canals and its deepest point is about 12 feet.

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Divers recovered Carillo's body around 7:00 p.m.