Crews find bodies of 2 fishermen swept away by American River in Placer County on Saturday

SHE BRINGS US THE LATEST NOW FROM AUBURN, A DIFFICULT WEEKEND FOR TWO FAMILIES AS SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS CONTINUED IN THE AMERICAN RIVER ON MONDAY. SO THIS ALL BEGAN ON SATURDAY EVENING AROUND 9:00, WHEN WE RECEIVED A 911 CALL. PLACER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE TELLS KCRA THAT A GROUP OF FRIENDS WERE IN THE OREGON BAR AREA, AND THINGS WENT SOUTH WHEN 220 YEAR OLD MEN WENT INTO THE WATER. AT ONE POINT, THEY HAD CROSSED THE RIVER AND WERE TRYING TO MAKE THEIR WAY BACK AND SOMEHOW, IN THAT PROCESS OF MAKING IT BACK, ONE WAS SWEPT AWAY. AND IT’S BELIEVED THAT THE OTHER MAN MAY HAVE GONE TO TRY TO HELP HIM AND WAS ALSO SWEPT AWAY IN THE PROCESS. AND THEN THERE WAS A THIRD THAT WAS WITH THE GROUP, AND HE WAS THE ONE WHO CALLED 911 TO ALERT US THAT NIGHT. CONDITIONS ONLY ALLOWED PLACER COUNTY’S DIVE TEAM TO CONDUCT A SEARCH FROM THE SHORE SUNDAY MORNING. WE REALLY RAMPED UP OUR SEARCH EFFORTS AT FIRST, DAYLIGHT. WE BROUGHT IN SEARCH CREWS ON GROUND AS WELL AS CANINE CREWS TO DO A SEARCH ALONG THE SHORELINE IN HOPES OF THE VICTIMS POTENTIALLY GETTING OUT OF THE WATER AND MAYBE NEEDING ASSISTANCE IN THAT RESPECT. AND JUST OVER 24 HOURS SINCE THE WATER SEARCH EFFORTS BEGAN, CREWS LOCATED TWO BODIES JUST DOWNSTREAM FROM THE LAST PLACE THE TWO MEN WERE SEEN. THEY WERE LOCATED IN A DIFFICULT TO REACH AREA WITH VERY FAST MOVING WATER, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A PULLEY SYSTEM THAT WOULD HOLD THE RESCUE BOATS STEADY AND THROUGHOUT THAT PROCESS, BOTH BODIES WERE WERE ABLE TO BE PULLED FROM THE AMERICAN RIVER. NEITHER OF THE MEN WERE WEARING LIFE JACKETS. IT’S UNKNOWN IF LAST WEEK’S RAIN IMPACTED THE RIVER’S WATER LEVEL IN AUBURN, MARICELA DE LA CRUZ KCRA THREE NEWS AND THE

Search and rescue crews on Monday said they found the bodies of two men who were swept away by the American River in Placer County over the weekend. The Placer County Sheriff's Office said it got a call before 9 p.m. on Saturday that two men were carried off by the river about two hours ago and had not resurfaced. A group of three men were recreating in the area when a man got into the water.Leer en español."At one point, they had crossed the river and were trying to make their way back, and somehow in that process of making it back, one was swept away, and it's believed that the other man may have gone to try to help him and was also swept away in the process," Placer County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Elise Soviar. "And then there was a third that was with the group, and he was the one who called 911 to alert us." Both of the men who died were 20 years old.Crews searched the Oregon Bar area, using aircraft and a dive team to assist the search from shore, but the sheriff's office said low visibility from darkness and swift river currents made it unsafe to search by raft.The sheriff's office said it continued the search on Sunday, using two K-9 teams and two drones to help the 18 search and rescue crew members looking from both sides of the river. Crews continued their search on Monday, and the sheriff's office said its dive team members found the fishermen's bodies downriver from where the men were last seen."They were located in a difficult-to-reach area with very fast-moving water, but we were able to put together a pulley system that would hold the rescue boat steady. Throughout that process, both bodies were able to be pulled from the American River," Soviar said. The two have not yet been identified.Do you have photos or video of an incident? If so, upload them to KCRA.com/upload. Be sure to include your name and additional details so we can give you proper credit online and on TV.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

PILOT HILL, Calif. —

Search and rescue crews on Monday said they found the bodies of two men who were swept away by the American River in Placer County over the weekend.

The Placer County Sheriff's Office said it got a call before 9 p.m. on Saturday that two men were carried off by the river about two hours ago and had not resurfaced. A group of three men were recreating in the area when a man got into the water.

Leer en español.

"At one point, they had crossed the river and were trying to make their way back, and somehow in that process of making it back, one was swept away, and it's believed that the other man may have gone to try to help him and was also swept away in the process," Placer County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Elise Soviar. "And then there was a third that was with the group, and he was the one who called 911 to alert us."

Both of the men who died were 20 years old.

Crews searched the Oregon Bar area, using aircraft and a dive team to assist the search from shore, but the sheriff's office said low visibility from darkness and swift river currents made it unsafe to search by raft.

The sheriff's office said it continued the search on Sunday, using two K-9 teams and two drones to help the 18 search and rescue crew members looking from both sides of the river.

Crews continued their search on Monday, and the sheriff's office said its dive team members found the fishermen's bodies downriver from where the men were last seen.

"They were located in a difficult-to-reach area with very fast-moving water, but we were able to put together a pulley system that would hold the rescue boat steady. Throughout that process, both bodies were able to be pulled from the American River," Soviar said.

The two have not yet been identified.

Do you have photos or video of an incident? If so, upload them to KCRA.com/upload. Be sure to include your name and additional details so we can give you proper credit online and on TV.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter

Crews find bodies of 2 fishermen swept away by American River in Placer County on Saturday

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