No occupants found after missing Murphy’s vehicle is pulled from Kern River

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The submerged SUV belonging to Christina Murphy was recovered from the Kern River Saturday morning, but Murphy remains missing.

This comes just 4 days after a diver found the vehicle and posted the video on Youtube. A KCSO spokesperson says the recovery operation was possible because of the reduced flow of the river.

The submerged vehicle belonging to Christina Murphy who was reported missing July 22 has been pulled from the Kern River, but she remains missing. Deputies confirmed there were no occupants in the SUV during Saturday morning’s recovery operation. It took 53 days to get to this point, but it only took 15 minutes to remove the 4-Runner.

“On July 23, when we initially located the submerged vehicle to today there’s a difference of about 20 feet of water,” said Lori Meza, Public Information Officer with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.

Meza says the river was too deadly for rescue crews to act until now.

“There’s no amount of training that is going to replace the fact that they are human beings that are also at risk,” said Meza.

The river was flowing at 1,000 cubic feet per second Tuesday Sept. 10, according to the water master versus 700 CFS Saturday.

“The goal everytime we come out here is a recovery,” said Meza. “At the end of the day, is a safe recovery where we’re not putting anyone else in danger.”

The operation comes just days after a diver with the group, Adventures with a Purpose found the submerged SUV and posted the video to Youtube. The post has been viewed more than 165,000 times since Tuesday.

“An active crime scene is an active crime scene. Although, people might be well meaning an active crime scene that is tampered with is something that could hinder closure for the family,” said Meza.

Murphy’s family was notified about the recovery operation. Family members were on scene witnessing the terrible wreckage pulled from the water. Murphy’s friends say they called Adventures with a Purpose to take action, but the video has brought Murphy’s family more pain.

“I understand that the community wants to hear and wants to know, but remember that this is a time to respect a very, very difficult situation that a family is dealing with right now,” said Meza.

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