8-year-old dead, 4-year-old brother missing after being swept away in closed California river

An 8-year-old girl is dead and a 4-year-old boy remained missing Monday after the siblings disappeared in a California river law enforcement closed for recreational use due to hazardous spring weather conditions.

According to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded about 2 p.m. Sunday to a report of children missing in the Kings River, which flows through Kings Canyon National Park and the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests.

A preliminary investigation found the children, their mother and her adult friend entered the water off the shore about a mile from Pine Flat Dam, roughly 30 miles east of Fresno, the sheriff's office reported. The group was on the way to rock climb when the current swept the siblings downstream.

Neither child wore a life jacket, officials said.

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Crews found the body of the missing 8-year-old girl less than an hour into the search, the sheriff's office said.

The sheriff's office did not release the child's name or cause of death.

Fresno County sheriff spokesperson Tony Botti said about 40 search and rescue personnel including members of Cal Fire - Fresno County and City of Fresno firefighters resumed the search Monday morning.

"We are utilizing boats on the river, a remote controlled vehicle in the water, drones and our helicopter in the air," Botti said. "The water is too dangerous to put any people in."

The incident comes as authorities in Placer County, more than 250 miles north of the Pine Flat Dam, were searching for two people swept away by the American River.

'High water levels and hazardous conditions'

The river is among two that have been closed to recreational users in Fresno County since March 14, according to the sheriff's office.

Sheriff John Zanoni closed both bodies of water in response to heavy winter storms and melting snow that have created high water levels and hazardous conditions.

"The conditions of our waterways will only become more dangerous heading into summer as snow melts and dams release even more water into the rivers," the sheriff's office wrote in the Sunday news release. "The water remains cold, in the low 50s, the current is swift and trees serve as dangerous obstacles."

There is no timetable of when rivers will be reopened, according to officials, but water levels are being monitored daily.

Anyone who violates the order faces a minimum fine of $225, and "numerous closure signs" line those waterways informing the public to stay out of the water.

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Two others missing after being swept away; body found in lake near Sacramento

Further north, two people remained missing after being swept away by the American River in recent weeks, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Authorities also continued to investigate after a body was found Friday in Folsom Lake northeast of Sacramento.

Heavy snows that fell in California mountains and foothills during the winter will continue to melt, pouring into the Sacramento River and nearby waterways, according to the Redding Record Searchlight, part of USA TODAY Network. 

“This year it's different when it comes to the rivers,” Placer County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Kevin Griffiths said last week. “The rivers are dangerous this year.... not everyone is getting it.... Stay out of the river(s)."

Contributing: Associated Press and Camille Fine, USA TODAY.

Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.