Bodies recovered after 2 women were swept downstream in fast-moving Tuolumne County rivers

Two women were swept downstream and died in Tuolumne County rivers last week.

“We can’t say it enough, be extremely cautious around waterways in Tuolumne County. The rivers are flowing fast, high and the water is cold,” reads a Facebook post from the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office. “These unsafe river conditions will continue well into the summer due to the unprecedented snowfall we received over the winter.”

Investigator Ashley Boujikian said even during normal flow years, drownings are common at the locations the women were, or near where they went into the water.

The first woman entered the Clavey River, a tributary to the Tuolumne River, on May 29.

It is unclear if she intentionally went into the water or if she slipped, or some combination, Boujikian said.

Tuolumne County’s Search and Rescue team searched for the woman, 22-year-old Madison Moreno, by foot, by helicopter and using a drone, Boujikian said.

The search was scaled back on the third day. On Friday, a family member used a personal drone to search the river. The family member spotted Moreno’s body about 400 yards downstream from where she entered the water under the Clavey Bridge, part of Cottonwood Drive.

Boujikian said people usually park on Cottonwood Drive and hike about a mile up boulders along the river’s edge to reach a swimming hole called God’s Bath. At least three people drowned at God’s Bath last year, and two the year before.

But the river is so high this year, the boulders are underwater and God’s Bath is inaccessible, Boujikian said. Storm damage also has closed a 3-mile stretch of Cottonwood Drive, including the bridge, but Boujikian said people are parking at the road barriers and hiking into the river.

On Saturday, swiftwater-trained Search and Rescue members used a safety line to descend to the river’s edge, where they used additional safety lines to enter the water and recover Moreno’s body. A California Highway Patrol helicopter then hoisted her to the Clavey Bridge, where a Tuolumne County coroner’s deputy took over the investigation.

As the recovery effort was in progress, the Sheriff’s Office received another report of a possible drowning, about 30 miles south on the Tuolumne River.

A woman identified as 22-year-old Camille Alcantara, of Los Angeles, was swept downstream after entering the river above the waterfall at Rainbow Pools, another popular location that has seen tragedy over the years, including the drownings of children.

Reports from witnesses indicate Alcantara walked into the water upstream of the waterfall and slipped, causing her to be swept away, Boujikian said.

Her body was located several hundred yards downstream, in the water below the Highway 120 bridge, about an hour after she went into the water, Boujikian said.

Search and Rescue members used safety lines to reach Alcantara and move her to the river’s edge. They then used a low-angle rope system to carry her to the roadway, where the TCSO coroner took over the investigation.

“Although the circumstance surrounding both of these deaths indicate drowning, both cases are still open pending the autopsy results,” Boujikian said.

Following an especially rainy and snowy winter, river safety is of great concern across California this spring and summer.

In Stanislaus County, leading into the Memorial Day weekend, the Modesto Fire Department warned on social media that water levels “are high in our lakes, rivers, and streams. The record-breaking snowpack is melting bringing deep, fast, and cold water to our area.”

The post urges people to enjoy the water safely by wearing life jackets, which are available for free loan at the following Modesto fire stations:

▪ Station 1, 610 11th Street, Modesto

▪ Station 2, 420 Chicago Avenue, Modesto

▪ Station 5, 200 W. Briggsmore Avenue, Modesto

▪ Station 10, 148 Imperial Avenue, Modesto

▪ Station 15, 2755 Third Street, Ceres 95307

▪ Station 19, 830 Pecos Avenue, Modesto

▪ Station 27, 450 S. Willowood Drive, Oakdale

▪ Station 28, 325 East G Street Oakdale

▪ Station 29. 17700 Main Street, Knights Ferry

People using inflatables in rivers should read the labels to make sure they are rated for use beyond a swimming pool. Modesto Fire Department Deputy Chief Darin Jesberg has told The Bee there is usually labeling on the device that tells where they can be used.

Pool floats, tubes and even some rafts are not meant to be used near the sharp branches and other hazards found on a river, which could lead to a puncture.