Coroner rules body found in canal was caused by accidental drowning

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The Kern County Coroner's Office declared 31-year-old Armando Montoya Jr., the man pulled from a canal off of South H Street on Jan. 3, died from drowning. The coroner declared his was death an accident.

Officials said deputies were flagged down around 2 p.m. Friday for reports of a body in the Kern Delta Water District Canal on South H Street near Magdalena Avenue. The body was pulled from the canal and pronounced dead.

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Anyone with information is asked to call KCSO at (661) 861-3110 or Secret Witness at (661) 322-4040.