Man found in Merced County canal is third homicide of 2019

A man found this week in a Cressey canal is Merced County’s third homicide of 2019.

Merced County deputies found the man on the bank of a mostly empty canal about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a phone call from someone working in the area, according to Deputy Daryl Allen.

Few details were immediately available for the man found in the area of Cressey Way and Mercedes Avenue, including his name, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He had no ID on him.

Stressing a need to protect the investigation, deputies declined to describe how the man may have been killed. Four weeks into the year, Merced County has three homicides.

The first came on New Year’s Day when 55-year-old Gardner Leroy Keys was shot to death at a homeless encampment near East Mission Avenue and Highway 99, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

A separate shooting accounted for the second slaying. Investigators said 23-year-old Elias Vivancho Jr. of Dos Palos was killed during a party in the 21000 block of Reynolds Avenue in Dos Palos on Jan. 19.

No arrests have been made in any of the cases.