The following is a press release issued by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office:
At approximately 4:40 PM on April 11, 2024, we received a 911 call that two teenagers had been swept into the Russian River from Steelhead Beach. Deputies, along with Sonoma County Fire District personnel arrived and began searching for the missing teenagers. After speaking with witnesses, it was determined one of the teenagers was able to get out of the water on their own and was later transported to a local hospital.
Given that initial searches for the other teen were unsuccessful, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Marine Unit, Henry-One, Sonoma County Sheriff Volunteer Dive Team , Graton Fire Department, Sonoma County Regional Parks, Santa Rosa Police‘s Drone Team, Napa County Sheriff’s Office Motor Unit, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to help. The search was suspended at 11:00 PM, and would resume in the morning once it was light out.
On April 12, 2024, the search for the missing teenager continued at sunrise. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and the Dive Team were joined by Napa County Sheriff’s Office’s Marine Unit, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office‘s Marine Unit and Sonoma County Regional Parks. At approximately 10:30 AM the teenager was located by an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operated by Napa County Sheriff’s Office. We were able to recover the body from the water and are working on confirming the identity the teen.
We want to offer our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family during this difficult time.
We also want to thank all the agencies who aided with the search.
We are so very saddened by this …. thank you to EVERYONE that assisted with this recovery….. God bless you all!!