UPDATE: Witnesses recount when man swept away in the Sacramento River

Rescue crews on Wednesday continued their search of a man who got trapped in the Sacramento River south of the Cypress Avenue Bridge.

The man, described as being in his mid- to late 30s, on Tuesday was swimming in the river about 12 to 20 feet from the east shore when he went missing, according to emergency scanner reports.

Shasta County sheriff's officials did not return a phone call seeking information Wednesday morning.

A woman who lives under the Cypress Avenue Bridge and prefers to be called "Redhead," said she saw the man go under the water and not come back up.

The man was about 10 yards from the shore, just south of the bridge. He was in a spot where the water is calm.

The man was searching for his wallet and backpack that he had previously lost, she said. He stepped out farther toward the center of the river, to a place in the river where there appears to be an eddy and an undertow, she said.

That's when the man went under the water, Redhead said.

"I can't swim. So I stood there panicking. And I f------ yelled for somebody to call 911 because I don't have a phone. And I just f------ busted down in tears. Watching him f------ go under. It was horrible, dude, like, I saw the back of his head and his hands. He bobbed four times, and then the undertow completely took him under," she said.

The first call about the incident came in shortly after 5 p.m. At that time, witnesses told rescue crews the man had not been seen for at least 5 minutes and that he may have been swept away by the current in the river.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter and Shasta County Sheriff's Office boating safety officials were called to assist in the rescue.

Redhead said law enforcement came out Tuesday evening and searched the area where he went underwater and then moved off downstream to continue the search.

"They searched a little bit for him. None of them actually got in the water. But they searched a little bit for him. And then they sent the boat out. But they also had somebody on top of the bridge looking down so they could see like whatever from a high point of view," she said.

"It's a really murky out there, like mud growing up," she said. "So it'd be kind of difficult to see him like from any point of view honestly," she said.

Redhead said the man who went missing in the river also lived in the area along the river.

By Wednesday morning, the man had not yet been found, according to a dispatcher with the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.

Ken Christopherson, who lives in a tent along the river, said he saw a man standing in water about waist deep with a backpack on. About 20 minutes later he heard a commotion and Christopherson's son went in the water after the man, he said.

"He (his son) went in the water and got to him, but then fast water — he had a pack on I think — got the guy who was out there. And the water just caught him and took the boy," Christopherson said of the man who went missing.

Damon Arthur is the Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter. He is part of a team of journalists who investigate wrongdoing and find the unheard voices to tell the stories of the North State. He welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834 by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: UPDATE: Witnesses recount when man swept away in the Sacramento River