Body Of Missing Teenage Swimmer Found In American River Near Auburn
AUBURN (CBS13) - Nestled between tree-lined mountains, visitors stood by watching as Placer County divers searched for a teenager who was last seen swimming in the American River.
"It's just so tragic," said Stacy Stout. "Every year we see more than one drowning in this particular area."
It's the area where the river forks converge and it's a popular spot for locals and tourists. On Saturday morning, a teenager was out on the banks of the river, hanging out with his friends.
"They came out here this morning and were supposed to enjoy the day," said Kevin Watts, the teen's uncle. He and his girlfriend were 30 minutes away at home in south Sacramento.
Watts was working on his car when his girlfriend ran outside.
"She came to the door crying and I say 'what's wrong?'" Watts said. "My nephew went in the water and the water swept him away."
It happened around 10:30am. Scott Liske, State Park Peace Officer Supervisor Ranger with California Department of Parks and Recreation, was nearby.
"I looked down at the river channel and I could see him, he was moving downstream," Liske said. "He was struggling and in distress. It looked like he was trying to get control and get over to the side of the river."
But five minutes later, the teen was out of sight.
"This time of the year, have some sort of personal flotation device that's sized appropriately for the person who is going to be in the water," Liske said.
"My dad said earlier he wasn't going to try to swim across without a rope or something," said swimmer Faith Gutshall.
Most of the water rushing down the river is snowmelt from the Sierras, so it's faster and colder than usual.
"If anybody was trying to swim in that ... I don't know," Gutshall said.
Placer County divers spent several hours searching for the teen on Saturday. The search only spanned about a quarter of a mile but the divers took their time, often retracing the some areas and looking for anything they may have missed. Day one of the search ended just after 5 p.m. as the sun began to set behind the mountains. The teen's family remains hopeful and won't let themselves think the worst.
"Nobody knows what yet," Watts said. "They don't know if he came up somewhere at the end of the river and just don't have a phone to call anybody or what so anything's possible."
The search continued on Sunday at 9 a.m., and by noon the body of the missing teenager was recovered from the river.
