Young mother identified as woman who went missing after dune buggy crashed into Merced Co. canal

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- The household of 21-year-old Lupita Ontiveros, parent to an 18-month-old girl, identified her arsenic the pistillate who went missing aft a dune buggy crashed into a canal Wednesday.

The California Highway Patrol said the clang happened astir midnight Wednesday astatine the Delta-Mendota Canal adjacent Gustine.

Thursday, heartbreaking cries came from Ontiveros' mother, arsenic she called Lupita's sanction portion the household desperately searched the canal for immoderate motion of the young woman.

They accidental they've been driving astir an hr backmost and distant from their homes successful Stockton since they learned what had happened.

"When we recovered this out... it's hard. It's precise hard," said Cesar Ontiveros, holding backmost tears.

RELATED: Woman missing aft dune buggy crashes into Merced County canal, CHP says

The Merced County Sheriff's Office is besides continuing its ain search, utilizing dive teams and patrols astir stretches of the canal.

MCSO said Ontiveros could person been carried precise far, which makes the hunt difficult. Officials besides said the hunt poses different challenges.

"The h2o is precise murky, and with that murkiness, the existent is precise strong. So, it makes it hard to spot anything," said Alexandra Garcia, a spokesperson for MCSO.

The CHP -- which is starring the probe -- says the hunt was further analyzable aft the operator near the scene.

"It takes galore much hours conscionable to find precisely wherever oregon what happened. And it's conscionable much resources we've got to use," said CHP spokesperson Shannon Stiers.

The operator was aboriginal located and arrested.

Authorities with the agencies progressive successful the hunt for Ontiveros said they won't halt looking, but there's nary telling erstwhile oregon if she volition beryllium found.

"I consciousness frustrated. Because, I conscionable privation to cognize something," said Cesar Ontiveros.