Body of missing Fowler man recovered from digester at National Raisin Company facility
FOWLER, Calif. (KFSN) -- The body of a Fowler man reported missing from a National Raisin Company facility was recovered Friday morning, according to police.
Fowler police confirmed that Juan Patino's body was retrieved by divers at about 10 a.m. Friday. Authorities say the dive team arrived around 1 a.m., began preparations at 8 a.m., and entered the digester shortly after.
Police said that when the team arrived, they observed Patino's body had floated to the surface inside the digester. Special equipment was still required to safely reach and recover him.
Patino, 39, was last seen just after 1:10 p.m. Thursday, while working at the facility.
"Juan Patino, one of the employees that works here, was working on the facility plant, specifically last seen at the irrigation pond. He was actively pumping rainwater off of a tarp. That was his last known location," said Fowler Police Chief Greg Gularte on Thursday.
According to the chief, Patino had been assigned to remove rainwater from the top of the digester when he somehow fell inside.
Co-workers grew concerned when he did not log back in from the location after about an hour.
"His vehicle that he was using to work on the work site was left in front of this area. His hard hat is there and there's a tear in the canvas cover of this water digester," Gularte said.
Fowler police responded to a missing person call around 2:30 p.m. Thursday. Fresno County Fire and Cal/OSHA assisted with the response.
"The chemicals that are inside of that digester are very caustic, and it requires a specialization of a commercial diver to come out and dive in that environment," Gularte said.
Potable Divers, a hazardous materials dive team based in Salt Lake City, Utah, was called in to assist. The team conducted the recovery under extreme conditions.
Police said Patino was recovered still wearing the clothing described by witnesses the day before, and his identification was found on him, confirming his identity.
