The Kern County Coroner has ruled the death of a Newhall man who died in the Kern River in July as accidental. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office said 24-year-old Gustavo Angel Orea Lara’s death was an accidental drowning, according to the results of an official postmortem examination. On July 4, 2026, Lara, a Newhall resident, entered the Kern River at ...

A Newhall man has been identified as the person who went into the Kern River and died on the 4th of July. On July 4, 2026, Gustavo Angel Orea Lara, 24, of Newhall, entered the Kern River at about 3:45 p.m. near the  Keysville South Recreation Site and became unresponsive, according to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. Lara’s body was ...