Body found in swift-moving river after two teens swept away, California sheriff says

A search team recovered a teenager’s body from the Russian River after two youths were swept away a day earlier, California sheriff’s officials reported.

Two teens were carried away by the Northern California river at 4:40 p.m. Thursday, April 11, from Steelhead Beach, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

One teen got out of the water and was taken to a hospital, but the other could not be found, sheriff’s officials said.

The two teens were swimming with friends at the time, KTVU reported.

A search for the missing boy by multiple agencies continued until 11 p.m. and resumed the next morning, officials said.

An underwater drone found his body at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 12, sheriff’s officials said.

The body of a 15-year-old boy was recovered, The Press Democrat reported.

“You’ve got a lot of water in the river right now so the water is moving quickly, it’s swift, there’s a lot of debris from the winter,” Rob Dillon, public information officer with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, told KTVU. Hypothermia also is a threat.

The Russian River runs through Mendocino and Sonoma counties. Steelhead Beach is near Forestville, which is about a 70-mile drive northwest from San Francisco.

This story was originally published April 14, 2024 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Body found in swift-moving river after two teens swept away, California sheriff says."