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Dangerous Kern River’s death toll surpasses 300
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BAKERSFIELD  (AP) — San Joaquin Valley authorities have recovered and identified the bodies of four of the five people who have gone missing in the southern Sierra Nevada’s Kern River so far this year.

The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is still looking for an 11-year old girl from Bakersfield who fell into the river June 22.

Recovered bodies include those of 16-year-old Ivan Esquivel and 19-year-old Hugo Esquivel, cousins who went missing on June 16.

Two others lost in the river on July 4 have also been recovered. They were 22-year-old Allan Aurelio Ramirez and 20-year-old Jesus Alberto Perez Bautista.

The Kern River has a long history of danger. A warning sign that tallies the number of people who have died attributes 294 deaths to the river from 1968 to May 2018.