Man found dead after being swept away in Fresno County canal

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- A man was found dead Monday after he was swept away in a canal in Fresno County over the weekend.

Around 8 pm Saturday, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office was told a man, identified by family as 53-year-old Ramon Mendoza, had possibly gone into the Enterprise Canal near the Friant-Kern Canal.

Mendoza's bike was found next to a tunnel that goes under the Friant-Kern Canal.

The sheriff's office believed he may have been trapped in the tunnel, but said it was too dark to send divers or a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) out on Saturday night.

On both Sunday and Monday, crews used an ROV to search the tunnel.

"Incredibly dangerous, even with the ROV, with the current going through there and all the debris that was in there made things really difficult," explained Fresno County Sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Stricker.

The Fresno Irrigation District shut off the water around 2 pm Monday to slow the current.

"Right when they started raising the water again is when we located the subject," said Sgt. Stricker.

By 6:30 pm, Mendoza's body had been removed from the canal.

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