Placer sheriff identifies two men swept away in American River and later found dead
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday released the names of two young men swept away in the North Fork American River before their bodies were discovered two days later.
Christopher Robledocabral, 20, and Svyatoslav Danylevych, 21, of North Highlands were the two men whose bodies were found downriver from where they were last seen Saturday evening, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Robledocabral’s city of residence was not available Tuesday. Elise Soviar, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, said they were still awaiting information to confirm where Robledocabral was from.
A relative of California Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, is believed to be one of the two men swept away in the river. The state lawmaker’s representatives said Rubio’s relative was living with her as he pursued his education in California.
In written statement released Monday, her staff said Rubio and her family “respectfully request privacy as the investigation continues.” Rubio’s representatives on declined to verify the identity of the relative or comment further about the incident.
The Sheriff’s Office was first called to the area about 9 p.m. Saturday for a report that two men had been swept away and had not resurfaced.
Three 20-year-olds were fishing Saturday in the Oregon Bar area of the American River near Auburn. Sheriff’s officials said two men entered the water at that time, and one was swept away around 7 p.m. The second man tried to help but was also pulled in by the river, which was running high and fast after recent rainfall from an atmospheric river.
Authorities responded to the area Saturday night with the dive team but were unable to conduct a search on the water due to darkness and the fast-moving current. A search of the nearby shore and an aerial search by helicopter were unsuccessful.
Sheriff’s officials relaunched the search effort on Sunday on both sides of the river with K-9 teams and the dive team. Drones were on standby to aid the search but were impeded by a thick morning fog. A sheriff’s helicopter also joined the search.
A sheriff’s aerial drone operator initially spotted the bodies of the two men. The Placer sheriff’s dive team, in coordination with Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit, recovered the bodies of two men found in the river.
Sheriff’s officials said authorities used a complex pulley system of ropes attached to a boat as the divers carefully navigated themselves to the middle of the river and retrieve the bodies.
