Traveler drowns in Lake Berryessa
Second such fatality for area in last nine days
A man drowned in Lake Berryessa in Napa County on Sunday, the second such fatal incident in less than two weeks, according to county officials.
The Napa County Sheriff ’s Office received a call at 4:30 p.m. from a person reporting that their friend had gone under the water while swimming in the lake, sheriff ’s public information officer Henry Wofford said. Deputies responded immediately, along with first responders from Cal Fire, American Medical Response and the California Highway Patrol.
The sheriff ’s dive team was able to recover the body around 6:30 p.m., Wofford said. They found the man in water approximately 12 feet deep and 15 feet from the shoreline of McKenzie Ridge.
Authorities on Monday identified the victim as 25yearold
Marcos Salvador Grijalva Pocasangre of Guatemala, who was visiting family in San Pablo. He drowned at the Oak Shores Day Use Area of the lake while trying to swim from one side of the cove to the other, officials said.
It was the second drowning in nine days at Lake Berryessa. On June 18, 22yearold Billy Dy of San Jose drowned while swimming in Pleasure Cove, officials said.
“As one of our sergeants put it, it seems to be a continual problem of people thinking distances are shorter than they actually are,” Wofford said, adding that the last eight drowning victims in the lake were all people who knew how to swim.
“We just want to remind people that nonswimmers drown, but also swimmers drown, too,” Wofford said. “We encourage everyone to wear a life jacket whether they think that’s fun or not.”
“The thing about Lake Berryessa is the dropoffs are significant,” he added. “You can be in water that’s 4 feet deep, and move another 34 feet ... and you could be in water that’s approximately 20 feet deep.”
In recent years, 2006 saw the most drownings in Lake Berryessa, with eight incidents recorded, Wofford said. Last year was on track to top that, with six drownings over the course of three months before the lake was closed in the summer due to wildfires. The year 1964 saw the most drownings since the Sheriff ’s Office began recording them in 1957, with 18 incidents.