Dairy Worker, Son Die in Pit

FRESNO —  A dairy worker and his 8-year-old son died in a manure pit after going out at night to feed calves at the dairy where they lived, authorities said Tuesday.

Luis Gutierrez, 27, and his son, Luis Armando Gutierrez, left their home Saturday night to check on the animals, investigators said. When they didn’t come back, worried family members contacted authorities and the owners of Contente Dairy in Grangeville.

During an all-night search, investigators found Luis Gutierrez’s stalled pickup truck. Deputies believe the father and son got out of the truck and tried to take a shortcut home, stumbling across the manure pond.

Footprints and signs of slipping near the edge of the 10-footdeep pit indicate that one of them may have fallen in, said Kings Country Sheriff Allan McClain.

The dairy owner, Tony Contente, dredged the pond and the bodies were recovered early Sunday morning, McClain said.

“We could see the dad seemed to be doing what he could to reach his son,” McClain said. “But this stuff ... if you step in, it sucks you in.”

An autopsy is planned, but investigators don’t suspect foul play. McClain said the pair may have drowned in the thick sludge.

It’s also possible they may have been overwhelmed by noxious gases emanating from the mixture.

In the last five years, three other dairy workers have died from fumes in manure pits in the San Joaquin Valley.

Cal-OSHA, the state’s workplace safety office, is investigating the incident, spokesman said Dean Fryer said. The agency is looking into whether there were any barriers around the pond, what the father and son were doing out in that area at night, and what kind of safety training the dairy offered its employees, among other things, Fryer said.

Any possible fees or fines to the dairy would hinge on the findings, he said.