The bodies of a mother and her 8-month-year old daughter, both of whom had been missing in California for over a month have been found inside a waterway.
They were found on August 17
The Fresno Police Department confirmed on Sunday, August 17, that two bodies had been found while they were searching for Whisper Owen, 36, and her daughter, Sandra McCarty.
They were found in their submerged 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer in San Joaquin County, People reports.
The remains were confirmed to be theirs
ABC affiliate KFSN reported that the remains found were confirmed to be of Owen and Sandra.
In an update regarding the missing persons case, police said, “We have been in contact today with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department regarding a search of a waterway in the area of Highway 120 and Victory Road in San Joaquin County.”
They located them in a waterway
The statement by a police spokesperson went on, “The sheriff’s department has confirmed that missing person – Whisper Owen’s vehicle, a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer, has been located inside the waterway near this location.”
“San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department also confirmed that two bodies were located inside the Trailblazer.”
They were able to identify them
The statement went on, “Confirmation of the identity of the two decedents will be released by the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department and the Coroner’s Office within their jurisdiction, as they are conducting the investigation of the recovery of the two decedents and Whisper’s vehicle.”
Police are figuring out how her vehicle fell
The statement concluded, “The California Highway Patrol is also conducting a parallel investigation with the sheriff’s department to determine how Whisper’s vehicle ended up in the water.”
Police had pinged Owen’s phone to find her
Owen’s family told the outlet that police had pinged her phone, which last responded from a waterway in the area she was found.
According to CBS News Sacramento, the search group Adventures With Purpose and diver Juan Heredia had been looking for the pair when they discovered them in the car.
The pair hadn’t been responding
The mother and daughter had disappeared after leaving a doctor’s appointment at around 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday, July 15.
They were headed towards Elk Grove in Sacramento to meet family on Tuesday, per KFSN.
The family finally got closure
With Owen’s partner, Robert McCarty, and her two other children having been waiting to learn what happened, the family now has closure.
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After the bodies were discovered, Owen’s brother said, “It means we can find some way to move forward and accept this loss. She has other children that have to find a way to move on without their mother or their baby sister,” per CBS News Sacramento.
