CA WHISPER OWEN & SANDRA McCARTY: Missing from Fresno / Atwater, CA - 15 July 2025 - Age 36 & 8 months *Found Deceased*

Mother, infant daughter missing after leaving for doctor’s appointment, family says

The search for a mother and her 8-month-old baby in California continues more than a week since they were last seen by family.

www.wwnytv.com

Mother, infant daughter missing after leaving for doctor’s appointment, family says​

The search for a mother and her 8-month-old baby in California continues more than a week since they were last seen by family.

The mother of Whisper Owen said her daughter and granddaughter were in Fresno, California for a doctor’s appointment and on their way back home to Sacramento when they disappeared.

The missing mother’s car was spotted on traffic cameras in Atwater last Tuesday, which is her last known location.

Owen’s mother, Vickie Torres, was the last person to see her daughter and granddaughter before they vanished.

Torres said she does not know why her daughter was in Atwater. She said she believes her daughter and granddaughter are somewhere between Atwater and Sacramento.

“For me to think that now she drove away and I’m not going to see my daughter again because I can’t find her,” Torres said. “Something has happened. Nobody knows.”

Fresno Police said they do not believe the missing mother and baby are in the Fresno area.

“Something happened to my daughter, she didn’t disappear on her own,” Torres said. “She didn’t run away from this family. She didn’t run away from her other children.”

The family is now urging anyone from Atwater to Sacramento to check their security cameras for even a flash of her car’s appearance in the hopes that it could lead to some answers.

Media - WHISPER OWEN & SANDRA McCARTY: Missing from Fresno / Atwater, CA - 15 July 2025 - Age 36 & 8 months

 

[Guess Who]

I was wrong with my main theory on this one. And usually I will strongly consider water when they haven’t found the car yet. I don’t know why I didn’t go there with my mind. Plus, I know darn good and well there are irrigation canals all over the Central Valley! Just shows that detectives can’t go down with just one theory and be done with it.

Do you think only having one headlight made it harder for her to see in the dark? I don’t drive around with one headlight so I really don’t know.

That and the possible distraction of a fussy baby sure is a possibility, especially if you add both of those factors.

 

[Tresir]

The talk of her not having a working phone and then suddenly the reporting of a phone ping right where she was found is going to need explaining by LE, as well as the fact they had supposedly already searched that area. Its a bit of a mystery all round really.

As soon as i saw the rivers, canals and lakes in the areas where she went missing as well as the terrible weather that weekend, i did wonder about the back roads travel decision. I don't think a fussy baby caused anything, babies just sleep when travelling.

 

[Tresir]

More info.

Family of missing Sacramento woman, infant confirms their bodies were recovered from Escalon canal

Divers are searching an irrigation canal in Escalon Sunday for a vehicle that matches the description of the one a missing Sacramento mother and infant were last seen in, officials said.

www.kcra.com

 

[GrandmaBear]

Well this canal hid her car so has to be at least 6 foot deep and probably more. It also appeared to be raining in that last video we saw of her car being driven with one headlight on.

I am wondering more for escape purposes, like if she could have gotten the child, and even herself on top of the car or even higher standing through the sunroof. Or if she had somegthing to break a window or not and could she swim. Or how long they even had. Hard to think about but just wondering what thences would have been and how deep it was, etc. Or even to yell for helpl.
I imagine the sunroof open would have flooded more water in.

Sad thoughts, I am going to leave it there.

 

[Tresir]

I am wondering more for escape purposes, like if she could have gotten the child, and even herself on top of the car or even higher standing through the sunroof. Or if she had somegthing to break a window or not and could she swim. Or how long they even had. Hard to think about but just wondering what thences would have been and how deep it was, etc. Or even to yell for helpl.
I imagine the sunroof open would have flooded more water in.

Sad thoughts, I am going to leave it there.

Its difficult thinking about. The articles do seem to confirm they were both found in the vehicle. I just happened to notice the open sunroof in the recovery video. As it was raining in the last video we saw previously, it was not open at the time of the accident IMO.

 

[Guess Who]

She also might have simply fell asleep while driving. She had been on the road with a very busy day since at least 4am that morning.

 

[Tresir]

She also might have simply fell asleep while driving. She had been on the road with a very busy day since at least 4am that morning.

I am not sure about that as it was said she made desperate attempts to save themselves. It seems she went in the canal and then was stuck under the bridge. I guess once that happened there would be no way to exit the vehicle. I am not even sure if it is possible to open windows once the engine is no longer running.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I am not sure about that as it was said she made desperate attempts to save themselves. It seems she went in the canal and then was stuck under the bridge. I guess once that happened there would be no way to exit the Invehicle. I am not even sure if it is possible to open windows once the engine is no longer running.

I don't think she fell asleep either. She knew the long day she was going to have and knew her abilities. In other words, at her age I could go a 48 hour period without sleep, a long day was nothing.
Yea, the car became trapped or wedged. It is too bad she didn't have the window breaking tool.

This entire "care" is just so tragic. She takes care of the baby all day from wellness check to feeding, to changing, sees her family and it ends like this.