On Sunday, Sergio MendiolaGarcia, 25, of Santa Maria was swimming in the lake, located 10 miles east of Arroyo Grande, when he “became distressed and appeared to be drowning before going underwater.” A friend tried to throw him a pair of pants to pull him out of the water, Eva Grady, a captain in the San Luis Obispo County Fire Department, told Cal Coast News. Family members also tried to find him but were unable to do so.
MendiolaGarcia was not wearing a life preserver, according to officials.
After receiving a 911 call at around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, first responders, including deputies from the sheriff’s office and Cal Fire, conducted a search of the lake. They suspended the search “due to limited visibility” around 8 p.m. that day.
The next morning, officials began searching again. Divers from the sheriff’s office dive team recovered MendiolaGarcia’s body at around 11:52 a.m. on Monday.
“This is a tragic loss,” the sheriff’s office said, “and our thoughts are with Sergio’s family and friends.”