GUSTINE — The Merced County Sheriff’s Office recovered the body of a woman from the Delta‑Mendota Canal on Sunday morning near Whitworth and Cottonwood roads, roughly seven miles downstream from the site of a Jan. 28 off‑road crash that left a Stockton woman missing.

Sheriff’s officials said they received a report at about 10:15 a.m. Sunday of a body spotted in the canal. Members of the agency’s Water Recovery and Rescue Team responded and recovered the remains of an adult female.

The discovery comes 11 days after a dune‑buggy style RZR carrying four people plunged into the canal south of State Route 140, just outside Gustine. Three occupants — the driver and two female passengers — escaped the sinking vehicle and made it to the bank. The fourth passenger, identified as 21‑year‑old Lupita Ontiveros of Stockton, was swept away and has been missing since the crash. Ontiveros is the mother of an 18‑month‑old daughter.

The California Highway Patrol said the driver, Elixandro Naranjo Miranda, 21, had been operating the RZR along the canal bank when he drove into the water at an estimated 10 mph, citing darkness and heavy dust. The two surviving passengers and an independent witness told investigators Miranda fled the scene after reaching the bank. He was later arrested at his residence and booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of DUI and hit‑and‑run.

The Sheriff’s Office has assisted CHP in the search for Ontiveros, with divers contending with murky water and a strong current.

While investigators said they are hopeful the woman recovered Sunday is Ontiveros, the Sheriff’s Office emphasized that positive identification has not yet been made. The Merced County Coroner’s Office will confirm the identity and notify next of kin before releasing any additional information.

Both agencies said the investigation remains active.