Authorities find body near where boy was swept into Kern River last week

Authorities have found a juvenile’s body in the Kern River, near where a boy was swept away last week in the Keyesville area.

A helicopter was searching for the missing boy around 12:30 p.m. Thursday and alerted Kern Valley Search and Rescue about a possible body, the Kern County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

Search teams recovered the remains around 6:20 p.m. about 200 to 300 yards downstream from where the boy was swept into the current Saturday, deputies said.

The body was transferred to the coroner’s custody, deputies said. Authorities will release the juvenile’s name pending a positive identification.

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Dispatchers were called around 2:18 p.m. Saturday about a child who was swept into the river near Keyesville, south of Lake Isabella, deputies said. The child had been in the water for about 20 minutes before authorities were notified.

“Several juveniles went into the river in knee- to calf-deep water while an adult family friend supervised,” deputies said. “The juvenile slipped and fell into the river, and the family friend jumped in after him.”

A popular whitewater rafting destination, the Kern is known to be risky, especially in years with high snowpack levels in the mountains.

Even in a year with reduced snowmelt, the river can easily live up to its nickname: the Killer Kern.

Authorities told The Times on Monday that the river, which contains many shallow areas with rocks that funnel fast-moving water into narrow spaces, is always hazardous.

“It’s a very dangerous river,” said Lori Meza, a Kern County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. “A lot of our victims every year come from Los Angeles and San Bernardino County. It’s not a safe river to really be playing in.”