Drownings Northern California

A 35-year-old Panorama City man's disappearance Sunday afternoon in the Kern River, with his family watching helplessly, marked the fourth drowning there in the last 45 days, authorities said. The deceptively beautiful stretch of river that runs from Lake Isabella to Bakersfield has claimed 214 lives since officials started counting in 1968. Authorities say visitors, mainly from the Los Angeles area, often ignore the signs warning of danger: swift undercurrents, deep pools and jagged rocks.

A 35-year-old Panorama City man's disappearance Sunday afternoon in the Kern River, with his family watching helplessly, marked the fourth drowning there in the last 45 days, authorities said. The deceptively beautiful stretch of river that runs from Lake Isabella to Bakersfield has claimed 214 lives since officials started counting in 1968. Authorities say visitors, mainly from the Los Angeles area, often ignore the signs warning of danger: swift undercurrents, deep pools and jagged rocks.

Terri Vernon recalled her horror while she was on vacation at Lake Tahoe two days ago and saw a young boy being pulled from the water at Sand Harbor Beach. He was not breathing, his face was blue, and his skin was "cold and clammy," she said. Vernon, now back home in Huntington Beach, said Saturday she knew there was little time to waste if the boy, Nathan Knight, 6, of Carson City, was to live. "I felt no heartbeat and no pulse or anything.

A San Jose woman died Sunday after being swept away by a large wave while posing for photographs on the shore, Monterey County coroner investigators said. The 26-year-old is the second person killed by rogue waves in three days. On Friday, a 13-year-old boy was yanked from the beach and is presumed dead by San Francisco police after two days of searches. The woman was standing on some rocks with friends at Garrapata State Beach, south of Carmel, when she was carried away about 11:20 a.m.

Two boys drowned Wednesday while swimming in the Russian River, authorities said. The boys--ages 11 and 14--reportedly were trying to cross the river to reach a rope swing when one of them went under. The other drowned while trying to save his companion. Search teams in boats and helicopters searched for the boys, who slipped under the water near the lower dam in Guerneville near state Highway 116. The boys were not identified pending notification of their families, said Capt.

Two surfers were saved but a third was lost in high waves Saturday off Ocean Beach. The Coast Guard called off its search for the missing surfer nearly 90 minutes after he vanished, and he was presumed dead, Lt. Greg Mitchell said. The three, all foreign nationals, were surfing without wetsuits in high water, wind and cold when they were overwhelmed by the waves. A man and a woman in their 20s made their way out of the water with the help of several onlookers or park police.

A woman drowned shortly after dawn Saturday at Yosemite National Park when she attempted to save two boys swept into the roiling waters of the Merced River after an auto accident, park officials said. The boys were missing and presumed dead.

A surfer scrambled down a cliff and into the ocean to rescue an 11-year-old boy who was swept out to sea, sheriff's deputies said. The boy, Daniel Lackey, was released from Community Hospital in Monterey on Friday. Daniel had been playing on the rocks at Big Sur when he fell off a cliff shortly before noon Thursday, Monterey County Sheriff's Sgt. John DiCarlo said. The current carried him about 150 yards from shore, authorities said.

The body of a teen-ager from Pasadena has been recovered from Bass Lake in the central Sierra where he drowned during a school outing, Madera County sheriff's deputies reported Monday. A chaperon saw 15-year-old Julian Dahka Lewis under water late Friday, but it was too dark to search for the body when the sheriff's dive team arrived. The body was recovered on Saturday.

The Coast Guard on Monday called off its search for two Canadian teen-age boys who tried to rescue a woman after she was swept into the frigid Pacific and drowned. There had been no signs of the boys in the 48-degree water since the incident Saturday. "The ocean is unpredictable, and there's no way to know where they may surface," Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Burgess said.

The Coast Guard on Monday called off its search for two Canadian teen-age boys who tried to rescue a woman after she was swept into the frigid Pacific and drowned. There had been no signs of the boys in the 48-degree water since the incident Saturday. "The ocean is unpredictable, and there's no way to know where they may surface," Coast Guard Petty Officer Michael Burgess said.

The U.S. Coast Guard recovered the body of a drowned woman but gave up on a search for two teenagers, all of whom were swept into the Pacific Ocean while on a high school sightseeing trip from Canada. The woman, believed to be a chaperon, slipped into the surf and was pulled out to sea Saturday near Shelter Cove, about 200 miles north of San Francisco, said U.S. Coast Guard mission controller Michael Burgess. He said the Coast Guard gave up hope for the two missing teens Sunday.

At first it looked like a drowning case, plain and simple. But authorities are now investigating whether Terry Ray, a 38-year-old man pulled from the Tuolumne River last month, was killed after he witnessed a sexual assault on one of the three slain Yosemite tourists. Dennis Ray, the dead man's brother, said he was told by a nephew that Terry Ray saw 15-year-old Juliana Sund being raped at a house in Modesto.

A surfer scrambled down a cliff and into the ocean to rescue an 11-year-old boy who was swept out to sea, sheriff's deputies said. The boy, Daniel Lackey, was released from Community Hospital in Monterey on Friday. Daniel had been playing on the rocks at Big Sur when he fell off a cliff shortly before noon Thursday, Monterey County Sheriff's Sgt. John DiCarlo said. The current carried him about 150 yards from shore, authorities said.

The bodies of two brothers missing on the Feather River were recovered Saturday. Yuba City Police Capt. Scott Berry said three brothers, ages 13, 11 and 5, were fishing Friday evening from a beach just north of the 10th Street Bridge on the river's west bank when they decided to cross the river. The bodies of the 13- and 5-year old were recovered. The 11-year-old boy managed to swim across the river into Marysville and call for help.

Two boys drowned Wednesday while swimming in the Russian River, authorities said. The boys--ages 11 and 14--reportedly were trying to cross the river to reach a rope swing when one of them went under. The other drowned while trying to save his companion. Search teams in boats and helicopters searched for the boys, who slipped under the water near the lower dam in Guerneville near state Highway 116. The boys were not identified pending notification of their families, said Capt.

The bodies of two brothers missing on the Feather River were recovered Saturday. Yuba City Police Capt. Scott Berry said three brothers, ages 13, 11 and 5, were fishing Friday evening from a beach just north of the 10th Street Bridge on the river's west bank when they decided to cross the river. The bodies of the 13- and 5-year old were recovered. The 11-year-old boy managed to swim across the river into Marysville and call for help.

Southern California sportfishing is still reeling from the presumed drowning of a passenger on an overnight fishing trip last week off the coast near Morro Bay. Jim Bertken, 36, outdoor editor of the Los Angeles Daily News on assignment aboard the Marauder out of Paradise Sportfishing in Avila Bay, apparently was swept overboard in heavy seas 60 miles offshore early Friday morning. A Coast Guard search Friday failed to locate the body and an investigation is under way.

Two surfers were saved but a third was lost in high waves Saturday off Ocean Beach. The Coast Guard called off its search for the missing surfer nearly 90 minutes after he vanished, and he was presumed dead, Lt. Greg Mitchell said. The three, all foreign nationals, were surfing without wetsuits in high water, wind and cold when they were overwhelmed by the waves. A man and a woman in their 20s made their way out of the water with the help of several onlookers or park police.

Southern California sportfishing is still reeling from the presumed drowning of a passenger on an overnight fishing trip last week off the coast near Morro Bay. Jim Bertken, 36, outdoor editor of the Los Angeles Daily News on assignment aboard the Marauder out of Paradise Sportfishing in Avila Bay, apparently was swept overboard in heavy seas 60 miles offshore early Friday morning. A Coast Guard search Friday failed to locate the body and an investigation is under way.