MERDED COUNTY, Calif. — A woman’s body has been recovered from the Delta‑Mendota Canal near Whitworth and Cottonwood roads, ending a nearly two‑week search for 21‑year‑old Lupita Lizbeth Zúñiga Ontiveros, authorities and family say. The grisly find came Sunday morning roughly seven miles downstream from where Ontiveros went missing following a late‑night RZR off‑road vehicle crash on January 28.
Ontiveros, a Stockton mother of an 18‑month‑old, vanished after the vehicle she was riding in went into the canal near State Route 140 and Gravel Pit Road shortly after midnight. Three others in the off‑road vehicle managed to escape the fast‑moving water and reach shore, but Ontiveros did not resurface.
Law enforcement and rescue teams had scoured miles of canal banks and murky water for days, hampered by low visibility and strong currents. Family members and volunteers also joined in daily searches, driven by hope and heartbreak as they combed the muddy banks and orchards near the scene.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office said the body was located by recovery crews and taken from the water near Whitworth and Cottonwood roads. Deputies and the California Highway Patrol said identification efforts are ongoing, though family members have said the clothing matches what Ontiveros was wearing when she disappeared.
The driver of the RZR, identified by the CHP as 21‑year‑old Elixandro Naranjo Miranda, fled the scene after the crash and was later arrested on suspicion of felony hit‑and‑run, felony vandalism and obstruction of a peace officer, authorities said. Two other passengers were treated at a local hospital for moderate injuries.
Friends and relatives had described Ontiveros as a devoted young mom whose absence left an aching void in her community. In the days before the body was found, the family had organized volunteer searches, holding onto the hope they would find her alive.
With the grim discovery now confirmed, loved ones are left to mourn and remember Ontiveros for the warmth she brought to those around her — and to face the painful task of helping her little girl carry on without her mother.
