By Julianne McShane
California authorities are leading a mission to find the bodies of three Latino men who jumped into the water to save a child and never surfaced near the Three Mile Slough Bridge in Sacramento County.
Edwin Rivas, Edwin Pérez and Danilo Solorzano were among a group of five people who were fishing near the bridge, on a tributary of the Sacramento River, when they jumped into the water upon seeing a drowning 8-year-old boy, according to the Sacramento KCRA. , NBC affiliate.
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The other two men who jumped for the boy returned to shore and pulled him to safety, the news station reported.
The little boy did not need medical attention.
“
This happened so fast, three people, my friends… and we used to come here all the time
,” Juan Cabrera, one of the two men, told KCRA.
The Rio Vista Fire Department is searching for three men who went missing. Rio Vista Firefighters via Facebook
The men and boy were part of a group camping overnight at the Brannan Island State Recreation Area, relatives at the scene said.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, US Coast Guard, Rio Vista Fire Department and California State Parks responded to the scene.
Starting Sunday night, the search turned into a recovery mission for the bodies, the KCRA reported.
Rod Grassman, a spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, said deputies searched the river and its tributaries without finding the men.
"After exhausting all search efforts, agents shifted their focus to a recovery," he explained.
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A California State Parks official told station KCRA that strong water currents throughout the Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta and weather conditions were to blame.
“This is an unguarded swimming beach, so we don't have lifeguards on duty, it's mostly fishing access on an unregulated trail in the state park,” Paul Wissler, Captain with California State Parks, told him. to KCRA.
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Brannan Island's website notes that it offers "many opportunities for recreation, including boating and swimming."
Jorge Moreno, an information officer for California State Parks, told NBC News that the department recommends that people wear Coast Guard-approved life jackets, supervise children and avoid entering the water if it's too cold when they arrive. They have fun in their parks.
A Latino father dies trying to save his son
In another incident, at a nearby lake in Napa County, a Latino father died Sunday while trying to save his drowning son.
Witnesses told the county sheriff's office that 35-year-old Marciallo Perez jumped into Lake Berryessa for his son, but was unable to get back out.
The body was recovered from the water, the office said, at 4:37 p.m.
The boy managed to survive.
Sheriff's officials told the local KCRA it was the second Lake Berryessa drowning in six days.
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The Napa County Sheriff's Office advises people to wear a life jacket when near or near water.
