Woman reported missing found dead in overturned car in Yuba County canal, CHP says

A woman who was reported missing after she failed to return home from Roseville was found dead Monday in a car partially submerged in a Yuba County canal, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Maricello Soto-Ortiz, 25, of Olivehurst, was reported missing Sunday afternoon to the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office after she failed to return home in the early hours of Sunday, according to a news release from the CHP Yuba-Sutter Area Office. She was last seen driving the white 2016 Dodge Charger found in the canal.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Monday, a Union Pacific Railroad employee spotted the overturned car partially submerged in the canal near the intersection of McGowan Parkway at Rancho Road, the CHP said. The crash scene was located just east of Highway 65 in Olivehurst.

A sheriff’s deputy was the first to arrive at the scene but could not get to the car in the canal. The Yuba County Dive Team was called to assist authorities. Before the dive team arrived, firefighters responded to the incident and found the woman in the driver’s seat, the CHP said.

Soto-Ortiz’s family also was at the scene as authorities removed the woman’s body from the car. The Yuba County Coroner’s Office confirmed the woman’s identity as Soto-Ortiz.

The CHP said alcohol is considered a factor in the fatal crash. There was no indication other vehicles were involved in the crash. There were no other occupants in the car.