Child rescued, 3 men missing near Brannan Island, authorities say
By Daniel Macht, Erin Heft
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RIO VISTA, California (KCRA) — Three men went missing in the water near the Three Mile Slough Bridge in Sacramento County on Sunday.
Family at the scene told KCRA 3 a group of men and children were camping overnight in Brannan Island State Recreation Area on the bank of the delta.
According to family, Sunday afternoon while the group was fishing, an 8-year-old began struggling in the water, five men jumped into the water to save the child, and three of the five men never made it back to the shore.
Family at the scene identified the three missing men as Edwin Rivas, Edwin Perez and Danilo Solorzano.
“This happened so fast, three people, my friends…and we used to come here all the time,” Juan Cabrera said.
Cabrera says he was one of the two men who made it back to shore and pulled the child to safety.
“My heart is broken,” said Elmer Rodriguz, friend to the missing parties.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, United States Coast Guard, Rio Vista Fire and California State Parks responded.
Officials with State Parks explained the water currents are extreme throughout the Sacramento San Joaquin River Delta system.
Weather conditions also created a challenge, in the now recovery mission.
“This is an unguarded swim beach, so we do not have lifeguards on duty it’s mainly a fishing access off of an unregulated trail in the state park… this is title unguarded water so the water was moving at the time,” Paul Wissler, Captain with California State Parks.
Sgt. Rod Grassman, a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, said deputies were told the child did not need medical attention.
“Deputies searched the waterways with negative results,” he said. “After exhausting all search efforts, deputies shifted their focus to a recovery.”
United States Coast Guard will continue the recovery mission throughout the night.
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