Body recovered from Sacramento River, authorities say

A dead body was located in the Sacramento River near the Pocket neighborhood Thursday morning, Sacramento Fire Department officials said.

Crews with Sacramento and West Sacramento fire departments and the Sacramento Drowning Accident Rescue Team responded to the scene near Garcia Bend Park just before 9 a.m.

Sacramento Fire Department Battalion Chief Jonathan Burgess said a park ranger informed dispatch that there was a body floating downstream. It was located on the West Sacramento side of the river, and West Sacramento Fire Department took the lead on the operation as Sacramento and DART crews continued to assist.

The body was recovered just south of West Sacramento city limits, Yolo County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Matt Davis said just after 11 a.m. In a press release shortly after, the sheriff’s office said the cause of death was not known pending autopsy and the body has not been identified.

Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Capt. Keith Wade said only one body has been associated with Thursday’s rescue and recovery operations as of 10:30 a.m. Boats were still idled near the West Sacramento side of the river as of that time, as some spectators watched from the Pocket side.

Kevin Saeturn was fishing with a friend along a trail south of Garcia Bend Park when the two of them started to see police and hear sirens.

“We just saw a boat floating around ... then all of a sudden two Sacramento cops, they were here behind us,” Saeturn said. “I thought we did something wrong, but we didn’t. And then they told us there was a dead body floating around, they were trying to capture it.”

Saeturn said he saw the boat, and police told him the boat was following the body downstream, but he did not see the body itself.

“I told the cops, ‘That’s crazy.’ I’d never seen anything like that before.”

Burgess said the identity of the victim, including whether it was a man or woman, was not yet known.

“I am aware that there are two that were missing,” he said.

Burgess was referencing the two victims whom California Highway Patrol officials and family members said believe to be inside a tow truck that crashed into the Sacramento River March 26. Burgess said it has not been determined if Thursday’s incident has any connection to the two outstanding missing persons.

The truck, which CHP confirmed Wednesday night as a truck with Justin’s Towing, ended up in the river following a collision on the Pioneer Bridge and has still not been recovered. Authorities said Thursday that recovery efforts were expected to resume Friday for Shalvinesh and Roselyn Sharma, the two believed to be the occupants of the ill-fated vehicle.

This story was originally published April 11, 2019 at 9:41 AM.