Merced County father remains missing after vanishing in river while saving his child

Merced County park officials are taking steps to keep swimmers out of the Merced River as teams with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office continue their search for a man swept away earlier this week.

Friday marked the third day sheriff’s deputies searched the river near Stevinson for 36-year-old Jose Castaneda, who went missing after jumping into the Merced River Wednesday to save his 3-year-old daughter.

Faviola Ochoa, Castaneda’s wife who is six-months pregnant, also jumped into the water after the child, along with nearly half a dozen bystanders. Ochoa said she doesn’t know how to swim. She and the child were rescued, but there’s been no sign of Castaneda.

County parks officials posted temporary signage in English and Spanish on Friday at Hagaman Park and Henderson Park – the two county parks with access to the Merced River – warning visitors to stay out of the water.

“We want everyone’s park experience to be positive,” said Bryan Behn, deputy director of parks and recreation. “We want them to enjoy themselves and follow the recommendations. We’ve got one family in the county that’s suffering right now, and we don’t want anyone else to go through the same thing.”

Moving forward, the dive team and Merced County Search and Rescue team will actively patrol the river twice a day searching for Castaneda. The search and rescue team also will actively search the riverbank at Hagaman Park for any signs of Castaneda, Deputy Daryl Allen, a spokesman for the sheriff’s department, said.

Behn said the lower parking lot at Hagaman Park was closed before Wednesday’s tragedy, but visitors moved the barricades and continued accessing the river. On Thursday, staff closed the parking lot again, this time with lock and chain, he said.

The Merced River and others throughout the San Joaquin Valley are roaring this year as the record winter snowpack in the Sierra is melting.

Numerous drownings have been reported in the last few months on the Tule River, Kern River and San Joaquin River.

Officials say it’s imperative park goers heed caution this weekend as the temperatures rise into the triple digits and visitors celebrate Father’s Day.

This story was originally published June 16, 2017 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Merced County father remains missing after vanishing in river while saving his child."