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3 Fatalities in 3 Days Hammer SAR
May 1996
Car in the River | Buck's Bar Drowning | Kayaking Fatality
In an unprecendented string of accidents, Search and rescue volunteers were besieged by three fatal incidents in three days on local rivers in May 1996.
Car in the River
In the first incident, volunteers were called to Whitehall on Sunday May 26 to assist in extricating the passenger of a Chevrolet Corvette which had drifted across Highway 50, over the bank and into the American River. There were no reports of a crash from witnesses - it was discovered only after the body of the female occupant was found downstream Sunday morning.
The wreck was pinpointed mid-day Sunday with the help of the CHP helicopter. At that time several kayakers came forward and said that they had seen an upside-down auto above the "slide" on Highway 50 but had not thought of reporting it (apparently assuming that something so serious must already be common knowledge). It had come to rest upside down in several feet of water, completely submerged, about 15 feet from the bank and 20 feet below the highway.
From the license number, authorities realized that the car belonged to a couple missing from Lodi for several weeks. Their disappearance had been the subject of several news stories. Since only one body had been located thus far, SAR teams were called to help located and/or extricate the second.
The scene presented both natural and man-made hazards. If the nearly vertical bank the and the fast moving water were not enough, drivers passing by on Highway 50 were sometimes more intent on watching the accident than the road. Traffic squeezed by the parked emergency vehicles with only 2 or 3 feet to spare.
Once SAR teams set up anchors and rigging to stabilize the vehicle, Sheriff's Dive Team members worked their way out to the wreck. The male occupant was located underneath the vehicle, and eventually was extricated and packaged while still in the water.
Buck's Bar Drowning
Just as SAR teams were finishing up the American River incident, word came of a second river accident, on the Cosumnes River near Bucks Bar.
In the incident at Bucks Bar, a man and woman had been walking on a path overlooking the Cosumnes River when the the man and his dog went into the water (it's unclear who went in first, or if one was trying to rescue the other). Although the man could not be located, his dog was eventually found alive, lending some faint hope.
Eleven people in two foot teams searched thoroughly for about a half mile upstream, but did not find the missing person by the time dusk forced them to turn back. Nor was any success reported the next day when the Sheriff's Dive Team investigated the scene. Everyone who had been near the river reported that it was especially high and violent.
This incident happened very close to the spot where another man, Daniel Sidells, drowned several years ago. The circumstances were eerily similar: during spring runoff, Siddels dog fell in the turbulent water. Siddels tried to rescue it, but was pulled under himself. SAR crews were unable to locate him despite a massive effort. His body finally surfaced a month later, after the water had grown calmer. Siddels' father praised the efforts of SAR teams and made several donations of material and money.
Kayaking Fatality
Although Monday, Memorial Day, passed without incident, SAR teams were again called out on Tuesday evening, this time for a kayaker on a stretch of the American River below Pacific House.
The kayaker, Luka Sribar, was a visitor from Slovenia. He became separated from his kayak in a turbulent stretch of water and went through several rapids by himself. Whether he died during the initial accident or while being swept downstream was unknown. Two kayaking companions found him below the rapids face down in the water. They attempted CPR with no success, then left him and went for help.
By the time searchers responded to the helispot at the Pacific Ranger station on Mill Run Road, Sheriff's Deputies and the CHP helicopter crew had already recovered the body. The CHP helicopter made an additional flight down the canyon to search for the kayak as dusk fell, while searchers waited and watched in small groups. Finally, just before 9 pm, the volunteers were dismissed.
According to the Mountain Democrat, Sribar and his two friends were professional kayakers on an expedition across the United States. They had started in New York and kayaked in various rivers as they worked their way west. However, they found this stretch of the American more difficult than they had imagined. Local kayakers agreed, saying they would never try to navigate that particular part of the river.
So many fatalities in so short a time is unheard of in El Dorado County SAR. Search and Rescue success stories greatly outnumber the disappointments, despite the inevitable river rescues in May and June. After this weekend, searchers were yearning for a break in the action, or at least hoping to bring someone back alive.
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