Location: Kern River

Incident Date: 7/27/23

Posted by: Media Relations

Body of Kayaker Recovered from Kern River

On 7/27/23, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Swiftwater Dive Rescue Team (SDRT) successfully recovered the body of a kayaker from the Kern River. TCSO was assisted by the Tulare County Fire Department and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. The incident occurred on June 14 when the kayaker became entangled in a tree in the center of the river. Several attempts were made to recover the victim since the day of the incident in the Ant Canyon area of the Kern River. Those attempts were unsuccessful due to the extremely high and fast flow of the Kern River. SDRT maintained scene security since the day of the incident to monitor flows and river conditions in order to plan today’s successful recovery.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public to stay away from fast-moving waters as they are unpredictable and extremely dangerous.