Last week, a teen was discovered dead after swimming in a lake in California, officials said on Thursday.
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 on one of Thousand Island Lake’s islands. His trekking companions last saw him onshore from a distance, according to officials.
Search and rescue crews were dispatched, located the adolescent, and sought medical aid from a naval air station aircraft. When the chopper came, the boy was found dead and his father, who had gone trekking with him, transported him to Fresno Yosemite International Airport, according to authorities. Fresno Airport Police and county sheriff’s office personnel greeted them there.
Above a stunning blue alpine lake are towering peaks.
Thousand Island Lake in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, California Sierra Nevada, below Banner Peak and a blue sky.
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 noted that its high-country alpine lakes are “very cold” even on 100-degree days on the valley bottom.
“The nightly lows of 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 height. Even during the summer, the water is exceedingly frigid “The sheriff’s department stated.
In a statement, Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue conveyed his condolences to the victim’s family and friends.
“Incidents like these are incredibly tragic and among the most difficult calls we receive,” Pogue added.