Missing Fowler worker found dead in National Raisin Company digester

Divers recovered the body of 39-year-old Juan Patino from a water digester at the National Raisin Company facility in Fowler, turning a missing-person search into an industrial death investigation that drew Fresno County and state safety agencies to the plant.

Patino was last seen around 1:10 p.m. Thursday in the treatment area, where police said he had been pumping rainwater off a tarp covering the digester. Employees reported him missing around 2:30 p.m. after they noticed he had not logged back in, his work vehicle had not moved and his hard hat was still at the site. Investigators also found a tear in the canvas cover near the digester, a detail that sharpened questions about how he ended up inside the tank.

By Friday morning, the scene had become a specialized recovery operation. Fowler police, Cal Fire, Cal/OSHA, the Fresno County Environmental Health Department and Fresno County Fire were among the agencies on site, and a dive team from Salt Lake City, Utah, was brought in because the digester contained highly caustic chemicals. One report said the team arrived around 1 a.m., began preparing around 8 a.m. and entered the digester shortly after 10 a.m. Patino’s body was recovered around 10 a.m. Friday, after crews had planned to begin searching the water.

Fowler Police Chief Greg Gularte said the case was being investigated as an industrial accident and that it was the first incident of its kind at the plant. The cause of death has not been determined, and investigators are still trying to reconstruct exactly what happened inside the digester and what safety measures were in place before Patino disappeared.

National Raisin Company CEO Joe Leon said in a statement that the company was deeply saddened by the tragedy and that employees were like family. The company has said it is cooperating with investigators as officials continue to examine the worksite and the circumstances that led to Patino’s death.

Digesters are designed to break down organic waste in the absence of air, but the Environmental Protection Agency says that confined spaces can expose workers to pathogens and gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. In Fowler, those risks now sit at the center of a death that has shaken a local plant and raised urgent questions about workplace safety in Fresno County’s agriculture processing industry.