Police find body of trucker who vanished from I-5 in canal

California police have confirmed that a body recovered from a canal over the weekend has been identified as a truck driver who went missing last week, leaving his truck idling on the interstate.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office said that they have positively identified the body of 54 year old Fowler, California-based truck driver Satwant Singh Bains, who went missing near Santa Nella inMerced County on May 15 under “mysterious circumstances,” while hauling a load to a destination in Fairfield, California, the Fresno Bee reports.

Police recovered Bains’ body in the Delta-Mendota canal “a short distance from where his truck was discovered” on the afternoon of Saturday, May 18, after he was spotted by an officer patrolling the canal.

The Merced County Coroner’s office said that the cause of Bains’ death was drowning.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office is working with the California Highway Patrol to determine why Bains was in the canal.

At 5:00 a.m. on May 15, police were called to I-5 and Whitworth Road after receiving a report about a driverless truck idling on the interstate. Inside the unlocked truck, they found Bains’ wallet and cellphone.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office described Bains’ disappearance as “mysterious.” They also reported that he is diabetic and could have been in need of medication.

Police are asking anyone with information on Bains to contact the Merced County Sheriff’s Office at (209) 385-7445.