Utah father charged after police say he tried to drown daughter

A daughter’s struggle in the San Pitch River ended before it became a homicide, but the case around Andres Blas Hernandez kept widening as deputies found injuries, drugs and near-unlivable trailer conditions nearby. Hernandez, 45, was booked into the Sanpete County Jail on Tuesday and charged Thursday in 6th District Court after police said he tried to drown his daughter during an argument in central Utah.

The Sanpete County Sheriff’s Office responded Tuesday afternoon to an area near the river after a report that Hernandez had attempted to drown the juvenile. According to the booking affidavit summarized in the case, the girl told investigators that her father dragged her underwater and held her there after the argument. She later said Hernandez pushed her into the water, she punched him in the side of the head, and he pushed her under again while holding her down.

That resistance appears to have been the turning point. The girl got out of the water and survived, but deputies documented the physical evidence of the encounter immediately after the call. They noted cuts on her forearms, scratches on the back of her neck, an abrasion on her chin, bruising on her legs, mud in her hair, and soaking wet clothing. The child was taken to a local hospital for an evaluation. The police report did not state her age.

The criminal investigation did not stop at the riverbank. Deputies said Hernandez was staying in two camp trailers near the San Pitch River in conditions they described as nearly unlivable. The trailers reportedly had no apparent water connection, an outdoor toilet with a bucket underneath, generator power, and severe clutter and filth that made it hard to move inside. Investigators also said drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in Hernandez’s trailer.

Hernandez was charged with aggravated child abuse, child endangerment, drug possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia. KSL identified aggravated child abuse as a first-degree felony and child endangerment as a third-degree felony in the filing. Investigators also said Hernandez is a multistate offender with a significant history out of another state and a history of absconding from criminal prosecution.

The case has the feel of a rescue that opened the door to something larger: a violent family incident, a child’s narrow escape, and a broader look at the conditions and history surrounding the accused. In a valley where the San Pitch River drains toward the Sevier River, the alleged assault now sits in court as a felony case that started with an argument and nearly ended in the water.