FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Search and rescue teams have now pulled two bodies out of a car in the Kings River.
Fresno County Sheriff’s Spokesperson Tony Botti says the license plate on the vehicle in the river matched the car driven by 31-year old Yinan Wang and his wife 30-year old Jie Song. The two Chinese Nationals had disappeared in early August while on vacation after visiting Crystal Caves in Sequoia National Park.
The recovery operation went smoothly according to Botti, who says at 6:00a.m. on Thursday the Sheriff’s SARS Team and CHP began enter the river near Horseshoe Bend.
“We got down there and got some equipment in to make the job easier to get the car out of the water.” -Tony Botti, Fresno County Sheriff’s Spokesperson.
By 1:45p.m. on Thursday they had flown both bodies out.
Sheriff’s Spokesperson Tony Botti says the license plate on the vehicle in the river matched the car driven by 31-year old Yinan Wang and his wife 30-year old Jie Song before they disappeared in early August.
The white Ford Focus remains just downstream from another car that was driven by two Thai students who also perished after plummeting into the river.
“We’ll turn those vehicles over to CHP, they’ll work with likely a towing company to pull them out of the canyon so that they can complete their investigation with the vehicles.” – Tony Botti, Fresno County Sheriff’s Spokesperson.
Botti had said earlier that they believe the car plunged 500 feet over a cliff, into the river.
Winter rains made the river too dangerous to make an earlier attempt, Botii said the water was still moving swiftly but not nearly as dangerous as it was at the time of the crash.
An autopsy will be the final determination that the remains are indeed those of the missing San Diego couple.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
