Last week, a teen was discovered dead after swimming in a lake in California, according to officials.
A 19-year-old from Los Angeles County was reported missing by the Madera County Sheriff’s Office on August 10, eight hours after he went swimming alone to one of Thousand Island Lake’s islands. His hiking companions last saw him ashore from a distance, according to authorities.
Search and rescue teams were dispatched, located the teen, and requested medical assistance from a naval air station helicopter. When the helicopter arrived, the teen was found dead and his father, who had gone hiking with him, transported him to Fresno Yosemite International Airport, according to authorities. Fresno Airport Police and county sheriff’s office personnel met them there. The Thousand Island Lake is located in the Ansel Adams Wilderness in eastern Madera County at an elevation of 9,833 feet, surrounded by peaks that reach 10,000 feet in height. Authorities cautioned that their high-country alpine lakes are “extremely cold” even during 100-degree days on the valley floor.
The overnight lows at Thousand Island Lake are in the low 40s, and the lake is fed by glaciers from Mount Ritter and Mount Banner, whose summits are over 12,000 feet in elevation. The water is extremely cold even during the warmer months, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a statement, Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue extended his condolences to the victim’s family and friends.
“Incidents like this are truly heartbreaking and among the most difficult calls we receive,” Pogue said.