Missing 84-year-old found dead near Huntington Lake after weeklong search
A man who went missing Monday afternoon in the Huntington Lake area has been found dead, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office announced Sunday afternoon.
Augusto Zarate, 84, of Yorba Linda, was vacationing at a cabin near Regatta Vista Lane and Huntington Vista Road.
Zarate’s body was found about noon Saturday by ground search teams in a remote wooded area east of the lake — about one mile away from the cabin. He was last seen between 2 and 3 p.m. Monday.
Cause of death remains to be determined but there was no visible trauma when he was discovered, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The announcement of his death was delayed pending positive identification and to notify family, sheriff’s spokesman Tony Botti said.
Some 50 members of the sheriff’s Search and Rescue team were assigned to the mission.
Other assisting agencies included:
- Tulare County Sheriff’s Office
- Madera County Sheriff’s Office
- Kern County Sheriff’s Office
- Monterey County Sheriff’s Office
- California State Office of Emergency Services
- California Army National Guard
Canines, helicopters, drones and jeeps also were involved.
Zarate, 5 feet 4 inches and 140 pounds, was last seen wearing a dark blue flannel shirt, a dark blue Nike hat and black shoes and carrying a walking cane.
He was known to get disoriented, the Sheriff’s Office had said Monday, making it difficult to guess where he might have gone.
This story was originally published April 11, 2021 at 2:35 PM.