FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A Christmas Day search for a missing Fresno man ended in tragedy after authorities discovered a vehicle submerged in a canal in northwest Fresno County.

Officials have identified the person found inside the vehicle as 21-year-old Carlos Mendoza of Fresno.

Carlos was reported missing after his family said they had not heard from him since Christmas Eve. His mother, Cynthia Mendoza, said she immediately felt something was wrong.

“I just couldn’t shake this feeling,” she said.

According to his mother, Carlos was last heard from around 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve. He had worked earlier that day and told his family he planned to go out with friends after his shift. When attempts to reach him later that night went straight to voicemail, concern began to grow.

By early Christmas morning, Carlos still had not returned home.

“About five in the morning, I woke up and just had this feeling like, ‘Where is he?’” Cynthia Mendoza said.

Using location data from his phone, the family was led to a dark, rural stretch of road in northwest Fresno County. The area had little lighting, no guardrails, and was near a canal with a sharp turn.

“We went to where it pinged in that area,” Cynthia said. “We drove in.”

Standing near the canal, she feared the worst.

“I said, ‘What if my son’s in there?’” she recalled.

The family contacted law enforcement, and the following day, a dive team located a submerged vehicle in the canal. Inside, they found Carlos Mendoza. Authorities said he was wearing his seatbelt at the time.

Now, the Mendoza family is grieving the loss of a young man they describe as kind, respectful, and full of potential.

“He protected people he loved,” his mother said. “He was a good person. He wanted to do more and was always hungry to learn.”

While at the scene, Cynthia noticed another memorial nearby and later learned the area had been the site of multiple crashes. She says the lack of lighting and the unexpected sharp turn may have played a role.

“That turn just catches you off guard,” she said. “There’s no real lighting there.”

As the family mourns, they are left wondering whether improvements to the roadway could help prevent future tragedies.

Anyone who would like to help the Mendoza family lay Carlos to rest can donate to this GoFundMe.