Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District personnel and Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies and park rangers gather along the American River near Estates Drive in Arden Arcade on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. A man was found submerged in the river and pronounced dead after firefighters pulled him from the water.
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District
A man drowned Sunday in the American River after bystanders spotted him submerged in the water along the American River Parkway in Arden Arcade, fire officials said.
Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews responded just after 1 p.m. to the river near Estates Drive, just downstream from Rio Americano High School.
Bystanders walking along the shoreline saw the man underwater and called 911, according to Metro Fire.
Firefighters reached the man and pulled him from the water onto a rescue boat. He was unresponsive and appeared to have been underwater for some time, fire officials said.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sacramento County park rangers were investigating how he ended up in the river, according to Metro Fire. His identity was expected to be released by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office once relatives are notified of his death.