High Sierra Topix

Since July 26th, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has been working with CHP and the Thai Consulate of Los Angeles to put together a plan to remove a car from the Kings River. The vehicle went over a cliff on Hwy. 180 near Convict Flat and down about 500 feet into the Kings River. Our Search and Rescue (SAR) team has since confirmed there are two people in the car. However, we cannot say with certainty who the people are. The Thai Consulate has notified us that they believe the victims are a couple of college exchange students. Again, we cannot confirm it at this point.
SAR is assessing the conditions of the weather and water flows on a daily basis as they work to construct a recovery plan. Recovering the bodies is a top priority, but safety for our personnel is also a top concern and it will dictate any efforts we make moving forward with the operation. A date of when this will happen is still to be determined.
We will update you if there is any progress made in this case.

Siamtown US, a Thai newspaper, has given the Sheriff’s Office permission to distribute the following four photos. These are the two people believed to be in the Kings River that our Search and Rescue team is attempting to recover.

The woman is 24 year old Thiwadee Saengsuriyarit and the man is 28 year old Pakkapol Chairattanasongporn. We have not confirmed the identities of the bodies in the river and will not be able to do so until our Coroner’s Office has possession of them and completes autopsies.

A date of when the recovery attempt will take place has not been determined.