GUSTINE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The Merced County Sheriff’s Office has recovered a woman’s body from a canal and is working to determine if it could be missing North Valley woman Lupita Ontiveros, deputies said.

The sheriff’s office said it was notified of a body in the Delta Mendota Canal on Sunday, around 10:15 a.m., near the rural area of Whitworth and Cottonwood Roads.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office Water Recovery and Rescue Team responded and recovered the body of an adult female from the water.

Investigators said the recovery location is approximately seven miles from the site of an early-morning accident on January 28th in which four people crashed into the canal while riding an RZR off-road vehicle.

Deputies said one woman, believed to be Lupita Ontiveros, has been missing since then.  

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the accident, and the sheriff’s office has assisted in the search for the missing person.

Investigators said they are hopeful that the woman they’ve recovered is Lupita Ontiveros, but the identity of the decedent cannot be confirmed quite yet.

The Merced County Coroner’s Office said it will work to identify the woman, and will release her name after next-of-kin notification has taken place.