( CNN ) -- A floating body was found Saturday that authorities believe to be the man who kidnapped his ex-girlfriend 's 4-year-old son and drove with him into a canal . A California water authority employee saw the body , believed to be that of Jose Esteban Rodriguez , at about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday . It was discovered in a part of the 117-mile Delta-Mendota Canal in the northern California city of Patterson , according to a press release from the Stanislaus County Sheriff 's Department . The employee alerted Stanislaus County Sheriff 's detectives , who went to the scene along with members of the department 's dive team and the West Stanislaus-Patterson Fire Department . Authorities determined the body was that of an adult Hispanic male with clothing and a physical make-up matching that of Rodriguez . Authorities will now employ scientific measures , such as DNA tests and dental records , and examine other evidence to definitively identify the body . The discovery comes 11 days after authorities found the body of young Juliani Cardenas , the boy who Rodriguez allegedly swiped from his grandmother 's arms on January 18 . Tabitha Cardenas , the boy 's mother , who broke up with Rodriguez five months earlier , told CNN affiliate KCRA that she was `` relieved that all this is over . '' She also expressed sympathy for Rodriguez 's mother , now that his body has apparently been found . `` I feel her pain , because I know what it 's like to lose a son , '' Cardenas said . `` She knows that I have always given her the utmost respect , through everything . '' A day later , a farmer saw a car that appeared to be Rodriguez 's 2003 silver Toyota Corrolla -- purportedly with a man and youngster inside -- careen into the canal . The Stanislaus County Sheriff 's Department said that the body found Saturday was about 11 miles south of where that car was driven into the water . A homicide warrant had been issued for Rodriguez in connection with Juliani 's death while authorities searched for him , Sheriff Adam Christianson said . Last month , authorities found the man 's Toyota trapped in 50 feet of water and intertwined with two other vehicles , according to Christianson . The windows of the car were opened and it was badly damaged , but there were no bodies inside . Tabitha Cardenas had said Rodriguez either wanted to have her son for himself or wanted revenge for their breakup . She said she never thought Rodriguez , who is the father of her unborn child , would harm Juliani . Rodriguez `` wanted to be with my son , '' Cardenas said January 20 . `` He wanted to be with my son so bad that he took it to the extreme . ''
ER : The kidnapped boy 's mother says she 's ` ` relieved that all this is over '' ER : She tells Rodriguez 's mother that she feels her pain , having lost a son herself . Local authority immediately alerts police after finding body in the Delta - Mendota area . Police believe body is that of Jose Rodriguez , accused of killing his ex - girlfriend 's son .