Authorities have recovered the bodies of three hikers who disappeared after jumping into Rattlesnake Falls in California last week.
The victims—Matthew Schoenecker and Valentino Creus, both from Los Angeles, and Matthew Anthony from New York City—were part of a larger group hiking in the remote Soda Springs region on Wednesday, June 18. Witnesses say the trio entered the water at Rattlesnake Falls but never came back up.
The rest of the hiking party, stuck in the rough terrain, had to be rescued by helicopter the following day.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office received the emergency call around 3 p.m. that Wednesday and immediately launched a large-scale rescue mission. Several agencies joined the effort, including the Sheriff’s Dive Team, CAL FIRE’s Technical Rescue Team, and a California Highway Patrol helicopter unit.
Officials described the area as extremely remote and rugged, which greatly complicated the rescue operations.
Due to poor weather and dangerous conditions, search efforts were paused on Thursday but partially resumed on Friday. Full-scale efforts picked back up on Sunday, June 22, when the weather cleared and more resources became available, according to *USA Today*.
That same day, the Sheriff’s Office confirmed that all three bodies had been found.
“Our deepest sympathies are with the families, friends, and everyone impacted by this heartbreaking tragedy,” the department stated.
Volunteer diver Juan Heredia gave a moving account of the recovery mission on Facebook. He described a grueling three-hour hike to the site and battling the powerful currents of the falls during the dive.
“The waterfall was relentless. It kept dragging me down… but I refused to leave without those three souls,” he wrote.
Heredia said that without their efforts, the bodies might not have surfaced for weeks. “Three beautiful lives have been recovered. Now their families can begin to heal.”