Bodies of 3 Sacramento men swept into Cosumnes River recovered, El Dorado deputies say

The bodies of three Sacramento men who were swept into the Cosumnes River have been recovered, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said.

The confirmation of their recovery comes weeks after the drownings were reported.

The three men — two of them 20, one 24 — disappeared on May 28, and were last seen at the Happy Valley Cutoff, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Authorities have not said what led to the men being swept into the water, but the family of one man, Evan Ishima, said he was on a hike when he saw two strangers struggling in the river. He was attempting to rescue them when he, too, was pulled into the current, the family told CBS 13.

The search for the men — led by El Dorado Sheriff’s dive team and involving a helicopter and fire crews — was unsuccessful.

Instead, the bodies were found by a family member of one man who went swimming through the area with a GoPro, the family told the Mountain Democrat newspaper in Placerville.

Even after the bodies were found, they were not immediately recovered. On June 4, the El Dorado Sheriff’s Office recovered the body of Tim Nguyen, 20.

“Due to the dangerous waters, we were waiting for a safe time to recover the second two,” deputies said.

The other bodies were not recovered until family members said they dove into the water. Deputies said they could not confirm exactly who carried out the recoveries, but said it was not the Sheriff’s Office.

Rescuers not affiliated with the Sheriff’s Office recovered Evan Ishima, 24, on June 10. On June 11, the third person — who family members identified as Gabriel Saechao, 20 — was retrieved by a team also not affiliated with deputies.

The Sheriff’s Office said its dive team was present for both recoveries to monitor the river for safety.

“As soon as they had recovered the body, they had their dive team members there assisting at that point,” deputies said.

GoFundMe memorial funds were created by family members for Saechao, which raised $22,000, and Ishima, which has raised $15,000.

This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 4:44 PM.