SACRAMENTO, California – Three men are missing and presumed dead in California after a child was trapped in a river and swimming outside in an attempt to rescue him, authorities said.
The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday that the boy was dragged to a popular swimming and sailing destination called Three Mile Slough.
The Sacramento and San Joaquin River Delta area is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Sacramento.
The boy was pulled out of the water and was not injured, but three of his relatives were shot dead after entering behind him, said Rio Vista battalion chief Brandon Wilson.
People “saw them fall and never saw them come back,” Wilson said.
Authorities searched for the men for two hours in hopes of rescuing them, but then went on a recovery operation, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Also this weekend in California, a man drowned Sunday at Lake Berryessa in Napa County after trying to save his son while the boy struggled in the water, the Chronicle reported. The boy returned to shore safely.
And a 13-year-old girl drowned Sunday by a lake in Wood County, Fresno Bee reported Monday.