Family of Missing Sacramento Woman and Infant Confirm Bodies Found in Escalon Canal

Tragic Discovery of Missing Mother and Infant in Escalon Canal

The bodies of a Sacramento mother and her infant daughter were discovered in a vehicle that had been submerged in an irrigation canal in Escalon on Sunday. This heartbreaking revelation came after the family had spent weeks searching for their loved ones, who had gone missing nearly a month earlier.

According to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, the dive team began investigating the canal around noon after a vehicle matching the description of the one the missing woman was last seen driving was spotted in the water. The discovery marked the end of a long and agonizing search for Whisper Owen and her 8-month-old daughter, Sandra McCarty.

Whisper Owen had been traveling from Fresno to Sacramento with her baby on July 15 when she went missing. Investigators previously believed that she and her child had reached Waterford and then continued along Highway 120, east of Escalon. This route, which involves taking backroads, is approximately 50 miles north of Atwater in Merced County, where the SUV was last seen.

Richard Owen, Whisper’s brother, expressed his deep sorrow during the search. “If we had found her the next day, she still would have been here in the water, and she still would be gone. And we would all have to make peace with that as a family. But unfortunately, you know, it took a month for us to find her.”

The mother and daughter were found in an area that had already been searched by the San Joaquin and Stanislaus County sheriff's offices. Live Copter 3 was over the scene on August 8 as crews used an underwater drone to search the canal, but they were unable to locate the missing pair. This led the family to seek the help of private divers.

“We were here for 30 minutes, and we were able to find my sister and my niece, and I feel like there wasn't nearly enough effort put forward. And I feel like a better job could have been done,” Owen said.

Christopher Waller from Waterford assisted the divers by using a small sonar ball to detect if Whisper's car was in the canal. “I was able to throw that in the water and get a good reading,” Waller said. “We acquired a target and then diver one was in the water and verified that the vehicle and verified that they were in the vehicle,” he added.

After locating the vehicle, the divers contacted the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, which then retrieved the SUV from the canal. However, Owen criticized the delay in law enforcement response. “Law enforcement didn't step in till 23 days missing, even though we urged them to many times,” she said.

Owen is now calling for law enforcement to take families seriously when they report missing loved ones. “I don't want an apology. They don't need to apologize. I'm talking to bring my sister back. What I want from them is the next time a family says that they know for a fact that something happened, take it seriously. Do the due diligence,” she said.

The search for Whisper and Sandra involved multiple agencies and private efforts, highlighting the importance of collaboration in such critical cases. The incident has sparked conversations about how missing persons cases are handled and the need for more proactive responses from authorities.

Caltrans temporarily closed Highway 120 on Sunday at Steingul Road in Escalon, near the search for the vehicle. The road has since reopened. While the sheriff's office has not confirmed whether the bodies pulled from the canal are Owen and McCarty, the family has received closure, albeit in the most tragic way possible.

This case underscores the urgency of timely action in missing persons investigations and the emotional toll on families who wait for answers. As the community mourns, there is a growing call for improved protocols to prevent similar tragedies in the future.