drowning

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - On just after 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 22, officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) responded to a call of a dog that was hit by a vehicle near the 3400 block of Lake Tahoe Boulevard.

Lobo, a large Siberian Husky, was accidentally let out of a hotel complex while the family was away. Witnesses tried to render aid at the scene but Lobo panicked, bit them and ran off.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A 39-year-old South Lake Tahoe man drowned in Lake Baron in Meyers on Thanksgiving Day.

David Schmidt was walking his dogs Cheena and Oreo along with a friend's dog at Tahoe Paradise Park. According to close friends, it appears one of the dogs fell through the ice and David went to save him. David left his keys, wallet, phone and jacket on the shore and went onto the ice when he broke through. Friends said he would be too smart to just walk onto thin ice without a good reason.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. - The Washoe County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) is reporting an adult male drowned Friday off the shore at Crystal Bay on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.

The initial call was received at 11:45 a.m. on August 2. The caller reported a non-responsive swimmer was spotted off the shore of a private beach. North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and WCSO both responded.

Witnesses on the beach were able to pull the man out of the water and start with life-saving measures. Emergency personnel continued but were unable to revive him.

10:45 p.m. update: A San Mateo County Correctional Officer has been identified as the victim in Tuesday's drowning at Zephyr Cove.

"It is with great sadness we announce the death of Correctional Officer Andreiam Jeffrey “AJ” Arqueza. AJ passed yesterday afternoon in a drowning accident while enjoying days off with friends in the Lake Tahoe area," said the San Mateo County Code 30 Foundation on a Facebook post.

Summer is here and after a snow-packed winter, locals and visitors alike are ready to get out and enjoy Lake Tahoe. Whether out on the water, lounging on the beach or hiking to a rock outcropping to take a plunge, there are important precautions to keep in mind with water surface temperatures and cold water immersion.

6/4/19 4:00PM Update: Details have been updated in Monday evening's incident on Lake Tahoe. The two people were in a canoe that took on water for unknown reasons about 3/4 of a mile off the shore of South Lake Tahoe. They ended up in the water and were there for about ten minutes before a local boater got to them and pulled them out of the water. The Nevada Department of Wildlife had a boat on the water that reached the group, followed by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) boat. SLTPD got the pair off the local boater's boat and returned them to El Dorado Beach.

UDPATE 1/13/19 - The second drowning victim has been recovered from Topaz Lake. The recovery efforts resumed today on at 9:00 a.m. by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Marine 7 and search and rescue units, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Specialized Vehicle Unit (SUV) and their HASTY Dive Team, and Wardens from the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

At approximately 1:30 p.m. Marine 7’s ROV located the body of Jesse Gregory, 50, at a depth of 22 feet.

The surviving fisherman, Scott Wise, has recovered and was released from the hospital.

On July 1, 2018, deputies from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office (EDSO) were dispatched to a report of a drowning at Fallen Leaf Lake. It was occuring at the same time as a Search and Rescue operation was being formed to help an ill person at Eagle Falls and helicopters were on the way to that scene at the time of the call of the drowning. Some diverted to the lake.

The victim was identified as Sudhamo Ahuja, a 70-year-old male from San Jose, Calif. and his next of kin has been notified.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The cause of death of the Sacramento resident whose body was found in the Upper Truckee River in South Lake Tahoe on April 9, 2017 has been as accidental drowning by the El Dorado County Coroner.

Pamela Suswinsky, 62, was in town with her ex-husband and friend, Henry Suwinsky, and they were staying at the Motel 6 on Lake Tahoe Blvd. Henry said they came to town because she wanted her dog, Wilson, a 150-plus pound Newfoundland to experience snow for the first time.

The identities of the two bodies found in Fallen Leaf Lake in the fall of 2017 have been released, confirming what law enforcement found at the time. They were identified as 71-year-old Cynthia Ellis and 74-year-old Michael Whalen after the California Department of Justice verified them through DNA samples.

El Dorado County Sheriff's Detectives said there is no evidence of foul play.

the father of a University of Reno football player who drowned in Lake Tahoe wants his son’s death to send a powerful message of safety on the water.

Marc Ma, 20, was recovered in the water off the Homewood shore last week, after going missing in June 2016 during a paddleboarding trip with friends.

A man drowned at Sand Harbor Saturday evening according to the Washoe County Sheriff's Office (WCSO).

The man was swimming near the beach at approximately 5:00 p.m. when he drowned on July 29, 2017, according to Bob Harmon, spokesman for WCSO. Lifeguards from San Harbor got the victim to the shore and starting life-saving measures. The man was taken to an Incline Village hospital where he later died.

Harmon said bystanders estimated the victim to be in his late 20s.

The man who drowned in Lake Tahoe on the Fourth of July has been identified as 41-year-old William Weaver of Citrus Heights.

Weaver fell from a double kayak he and his wife were on at about 3:30 p.m. according to South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Jim Drennan.

Rescue personnel responded to an area off of Beach Drive where Weaver had been taken by people in the area.

With recent water tragedies in Lake Tahoe we are republishing this 2016 article.

The most common misunderstanding about swimming in Lake Tahoe is that people can suffer from hypothermia, which leads to death. The real truth is that "cold water shock" will kill much quicker than hypothermia ever will.

"The sudden lowering of skin temperature on immersion in cold water represents one of the most profound stimuli that the body can encounter." Golden and Tipton in Essentials of Sea Survival

A Silver Fork man was on his way to work in Pollock Pines Friday when it is believed his vehicle crashed into the American River, sending him and his vehicle into the water.

Digger Gooch, 37, was westbound on Highway 50 February 10 when deputies from the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO) believe he crashed into the river which was moving rapidly due to heavy rains in the area.

The family of an off-duty Contra Costa Sheriff’s deputy who drowned last year has sued a South Lake Tahoe paddle boat company as part of a push for increased regulations in the boating industry.

When Krysinthia White’s team, 20 Percent Survival, completed the MedWAR Tahoe Challenge at the Taylor Creek Sno-Park, they knew it was not a first place finish. Yet they were still smiling after six flat tires, a bee sting, and multiple wrong turns.

“From our perspective, last place was the best place,” says White. “We had the entire lake [Fallen Leaf] to ourselves and pretty much the entire trail.”

20 Percent Survival is one of ten teams of wilderness enthusiasts and medical responders who participated in the inaugural MedWAR Tahoe Challenge on Saturday, September 17.

A 22-year-old man from Oakland, Calif., drowned off the shore of South Lake Tahoe on Saturday after a jet skiing accident.

At 6:10 p.m. August 13, a person at the Timber Cover Marina reported an over due jet skier. Officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to the pier where they learned two men had been thrown off a rented jet ski after hitting a wave about 100 yards off the the marina. One man was able to swim back to the jet ski, but the other man, Raeshon Williams, did not. Neither man was wearing a life jacket.

1:30 p.m. 7/20/16 update: The man who died while kayaking in Lake Tahoe on Tuesday has been identified as 43-year-old Paul Anthony Aguirre of Rio Linda, Calif. Aguirre was in South Lake Tahoe with his family, his fiancée, and his fiancée's family.

Aguirre had been paddling in a privately owned kayak in the area of El Dorado Beach when family members lost sight of him and a call went out for help at 4:49 p.m.

The victim was located at the water’s surface, approximately 300 yards off of the shoreline of El Dorado Beach, where the depth was approximately 10 feet.

The most common misunderstanding about swimming in Lake Tahoe is that people can suffer from hypothermia, which leads to death. The real truth is that "cold water shock" will kill much quicker than hypothermia ever will.

"The sudden lowering of skin temperature on immersion in cold water represents one of the most profound stimuli that the body can encounter." Golden and Tipton in Essentials of Sea Survival

The Nevada Department of Wildlife is increasing their educational campaign for boaters and swimmers to understand the dangers of cold water at Lake Tahoe.

"Swim Smart, Swim Safe: know the dangers of cold water" is the message coming from agencies responsible for boating and water safety on Lake Tahoe, especially after the recent deaths in the lake of two healthy men.

Drowning incidents from boating, paddling and swimming often share the same cause, "cold water shock," an involuntary gasp reflex caused by sudden immersion in cold water. Swimmers and boaters suddenly exposed to the cold waters of Lake Tahoe may experience rapid breathing, gasping, fainting, muscle failure and immediate risk of drowning.

Joshua Larsen, age 36 of Reno, was arrested by members of the Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes against Children Task Force (I.C.A.C.), on child Sexual Assault and multiple child pornography charges, including Use of a Minor in Producing Pornography.

Law Enforcement became aware of Larsen after a tip was provided to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s “Cybertipline.”

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) lifted fire restrictions on National Forest System lands on Friday, October 30, 2015.

“While conditions have allowed the Forest Service to lift fire restrictions, wildfires can still occur,” said Fire Management Officer, Kit Bailey. “Visitors to our National Forests need to educate themselves about how to safely build and extinguish a campfire, and should continue to be careful and remember that campfires are only allowed in certain areas.”

A Contra Costa Sheriff's deputy who died trying to rescue his friend who he believed was struggling in choppy Lake Tahoe waters earlier this month died from drowning, an El Dorado County Sheriff's official said Wednesday.

The preliminary autopsy report determined Carlos Francies, 30, of Sacramento, drowned on Aug. 13, according to the El Dorado coroner's office. A final report is weeks away, the department said.