Authorities and relatives are expanding the search for Lupita Lizbeth Zúñiga Ontiveros, 21, who vanished shortly after midnight Wednesday when a dune buggy she was riding in flipped into the Delta–Mendota Canal in western Merced County, officials said. The Stockton mother’s 18-month-old daughter is with family.
California Highway Patrol investigators say the off-road vehicle rolled into the canal near State Route 140, a rural corridor of farms and aqueducts. Three people made it out of the water; Ontiveros did not resurface. The Merced County Sheriff’s Office has directed ground and water searches while CHP’s Los Baños office leads the collision investigation. Divers, deputies and volunteers have walked miles of canal banks as the case enters its second week. Authorities describe the current as swift and the water as opaque, complicating sonar sweeps and bank-to-bank checks. The driver, identified by investigators as 21-year-old Elixandro Naranjo Miranda, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run after leaving the scene, officials said.
Relatives said Ontiveros left home the night before the crash, telling a sister she would return by midnight after doing “a favor” for friends. She did not come back, family members said. Deputies and rescue crews converged on the canal area after calls about the rollover. The buggy was recovered, but Ontiveros was not found. “The water is very murky and the current is strong, so it makes it difficult to see anything,” Merced County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Alexandra Garcia said in an interview. CHP officer Shannon Stiers said the driver’s departure before first responders arrived added hours of work to establish where and how the rollover happened.
CHP said four people were in the dune buggy when it entered the canal near Gravel Pit Road, east of the Interstate 5 corridor. Investigators said Miranda and two passengers escaped the water; Ontiveros did not. After the crash, Miranda allegedly walked away and was later arrested at a residence and booked into the Merced County Jail on felony hit-and-run allegations. Court records were not immediately available to show whether he had retained an attorney. Officials have not released a suspected cause of the rollover, and they have not identified the other passengers. The Sheriff’s Office said search teams have used boats, drones and shoreline patrols, expanding downstream because canal gates and siphons can carry objects long distances.
Family members have traveled daily from Stockton — roughly 70 miles — to search the canal banks from sunrise to sunset. “It breaks my heart seeing my aunt calling out her daughter’s name, telling her to come back to her baby,” a cousin said. Ontiveros’ sister said the 18-month-old, Deylani, is staying with relatives. Community volunteers who do not know the family have joined the effort, bringing food, flashlights and waders. A relative said they fear Ontiveros did not survive, but they are continuing to look for signs along the waterline and around access roads. The Sheriff’s Office has asked landowners near the canal to report anything unusual.
The incident unfolded along the Delta–Mendota Canal, a federally managed waterway that runs parallel to the California Aqueduct through Merced County’s west side. The stretch near Gustine includes siphons, culverts and concrete-lined banks that can be hazardous when water is moving quickly. Local officials say winter releases and recent weather can increase flow and reduce visibility, limiting what divers can safely do. The area draws off-road enthusiasts to levee roads and dirt tracks, though off-road vehicles are not permitted in canal channels. Residents said the spot becomes quiet after dark, with limited lighting and long distances between farmhouses.
Investigators said their immediate priorities are recovery and documentation of the crash scene. CHP collision specialists are analyzing the buggy’s condition and mapping the route taken before the rollover. Detectives are collecting statements from the surviving passengers and canvassing for security video along State Route 140 and nearby ranch properties. The Sheriff’s Office said additional sonar passes are planned as conditions allow. Officials did not give a firm timeline for results, citing current speed and safety limits for divers. If prosecutors file charges in the crash, Miranda would be scheduled for an initial hearing in Merced County Superior Court; no date has been posted.
On the canal banks this week, searchers moved in small groups along gravel service roads, passing irrigation gates and low bridges. Some marked areas with flagging where debris collected in eddies. A neighbor who watched from a fence line described a steady procession of trucks and ATVs and said the canal sounded “like a river” overnight. “We’ll keep coming back until we have answers,” a family friend said. As dusk fell, deputies cleared the area and planned to resume at first light, with relatives gathering around parked cars to share updates and plan the next day’s routes.
As of Thursday, authorities said Ontiveros remained missing and the search corridor had been widened downstream of the crash site. CHP continues to investigate the rollover and the driver’s actions before and after the incident. The Sheriff’s Office said it will release any significant developments and confirm identification if remains are recovered.
Author note: Last updated February 6, 2026.