A body was pulled from the water of a Hilmar canal that has been positively identified as that of a missing Turlock woman.
Merced County Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Tom MacKenzie said the body was identified as that of Robin Boyd, 39. Boyd is believed to have driven her vehicle into a canal on Thursday.
The body was found in a canal in the area of Lander Avenue and Oslo Road in Hilmar. The discovery was made sometime between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday by Turlock Irrigation District employees working in the area, MacKenzie said.
Boyd had been reported missing after her 2004 Volvo was found in a canal near Bradbury Road and Highway 99 in Delhi. The vehicle was reported in the canal just after 5 p.m. Thursday and spotted by a California Highway Patrol officer around 5:30 p.m. The CHP requested the assistance of the Merced County Sheriff's Dive team and divers found the vehicle submerged with the windows rolled down, but no one inside.
Deputies checked the vehicle registration and found that it belonged to Boyd and went to her listed address in Turlock.
At the Turlock residence deputies spoke with Boyd's husband, who confirmed that the vehicle belonged to his wife.
The husband told deputies that his children had been in the Volvo earlier that day with their mother. The children said their mother was involved in a minor traffic collision that morning and that she left them at the scene to walk home, while she drove away. The children also told their father, who in turn told the deputies, that Boyd might have been under the influence of alcohol, MacKenzie said.
Boyd had not been reported missing prior to her vehicle being located in the canal.
Turlock Police department spokesman Sgt. Nino Amirfar said the department had not been called to any accident scene involving Boyd on Thursday.
The sheriff's department had conducted a search for Boyd over the last few days, including the deployment of the dive team and the department's helicopter.
To contact Sabra Stafford, e-mail sstafford@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2002.