The body of 23-year old Andy Odon Ortega Fonseca, of Sacramento, was discovered Monday along the American River, according to officials. (Placer County Sheriff's Office)
The body of a man who fell into a raging river in Northern California while taking photos over the weekend was discovered Monday, officials said.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that the body of 23-year old Andy Odon Ortega Fonseca, of Sacramento, was found early Monday afternoon.
Fonseca was taking pictures Sunday along the American River near No Hands Bridge in Auburn about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento with his fiancée when he fell in. A swift water rescue team responded to the area but had to suspend the search by 9 p.m. due to darkness, according to officials.
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Sheriff's office spokeswoman Angela Musallam told FOX40 a rescue helicopter's infrared imaging system briefly picked up Fonseca's heat signature in the water, but efforts were hampered by the torrent.
"We did spot it at one point but we just lost sight of it," she said. "So that’s when we thought that he was no longer floating but then got swept up underneath the waters."
Musallam said that someone untrained, falling in fully clothed, with heavy gear such as a camera, can make chances for survival "very slim."
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The sheriff's office issued a warning to those who planned to visit the area, warning people to avoid getting into the water until June when flows from heavy rain and snowmelt have calmed down and the temperatures rises.
"We can’t stress how dangerous river water is, especially during this time of year when the temperature ranges from 38-45 degrees Fahrenheit and the flows are swift and choppy," the sheriff's office said. "It is easy to get swept under the current, even when the water APPEARS to be calm. It is merely a deception."
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