Stockton’s diver Juan Heredia found the bodies of three men trapped under a dangerous waterfall in the placement county. The bodies were regained four days after they were last visible to the waters near Soda Springs, the authorities said.
The search began on Wednesday, June 18, when a group of travelers reported that three men from their original six groups jumped into the water at the Rattlenake Falls and did not appear, reports the Placer District Sheriff.
The mass search and rescue efforts were launched, including a California highway patrol helicopter, a sheriff’s diving team, a sheriff’s search and rescue officers and the Cal Fire technical rescue team.
Three men were found dead in 2025. On Sunday, June 22, jumping into the water at the Rattlaknak Waterfall near Soda Springs and failing to repeat four days earlier, officials said.
“The terrain is very distant and difficult to achieve, so the rescue efforts are particularly complex,” the Sheriff’s Department said in a written statement.
Thursday night, three travelers evacuated a helicopter from the area who reported the incident when the search continued.
The search efforts were stopped Thursday afternoon due to poor underwater visibility, strong currents and strong winds, officials said.
According to the Sheriff’s Department’s statement, the search resumed Friday and continued during the weekend for “limited but constant capacity”.
The founder of Angels Recovery Dive Team Stockton Volunteer Diver Heredia began looking for bodies. Heredia has announced Facebook about your team’s efforts to find three.
“I found them !! Family no longer have to wait for torture !! That waterfall was brutal, he pushed me strongly … But I won’t go without those 3 souls,” he wrote. “Josh Robinson and I went for more than 3 hours to get to that pose at a depth of 47 feet. I made four dives – almost 3 minutes – with ice and very deep. But we couldn’t wait. I knew it could take a few weeks.
He also called the sheriff’s office in his post. “Families should not wait for days. If they knew there are people who want to help – divers, volunteers, even in the dark – they may have answers much earlier.”
The agency announced Sunday morning that men were found.
“With heavy hearts, we share the bodies of three men,” the report said. “Our sincere condolences experience their families, friends and all those tragic losses.”
The identity of the victims was not released.
Diver gave the key to the city from the Stockton City Council
2024. April The Stockton City Council acknowledged heroes as the “Heroes of the City Council” after the diving instructor voluntarily searched for Calavery of the River 15-year-old Xavier Martinez when he disappeared in March.
San Joaquin County Sheriff Department officials spent days looking for waters but could not find a teenager. Heredia found Martinez’s body within 30 minutes of his diving.
Heredia received permanent ovations from nearly 900 people.
2025 January Billboard rose next to the yellow Mexican restaurant El Señor Frog, which states, “Thank you, Juan Heredia … Home City Hero.”
At first heedia did not believe. When someone sent him a Billboard photo, he thought it was a joke and thought it was a photo session. But to his surprise, it was real when he and his wife Mercedes Heredia checked her personally, he said.
“I’m not a hero”: Stockton Nar celebrate with Billboard after a tireless search for Lost
“Wow, it was something incredible,” Heredia told Stockton’s Billboard record.
In addition to the volunteer diver and the non -profit Angels Recovery Dive founder, Heredia is also a broker, a mortgage initiator and general contractor. He and his wife Mercedes have a mixed five family.
“This country has given me so many good things that my way to return my skills to diving to the community,” he said this year before explaining what encouraged him to help close families.
This article initially appeared at Palm Springs Desert Sun: Stockton’s Diver Juan Heredia finds 3 men who are missing in California