Deadly Fourth of July in Merced County: 16-year-old drowns at Yosemite Lake

A 16-year-old boy drowned Tuesday afternoon while swimming with his family near the pier at Yosemite Lake.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office said a dive team recovered the teen’s body at 4:17 p.m.

The sheriff’s office said the teen was celebrating Fourth of July with his family, and swimming near the Yosemite Lake pier, where the water ranges from 6 to 10 feet deep.

At some point after, the family could no longer locate the teen.

It was not immediately known how long the boy had been under water.

This was the second water incident in the past few days that required help from Merced County rescue workers.

During the weekend, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office Water Rescue and Recovery Team saved two stranded rafters in the Merced River.

The rafters had an inflatable pool raft not rated for a river or any type of rapids, according to the sheriff’s office.

The rapids pushed the raft into a tree, which caused it to pop, and the rafters got stuck on an island in the middle of the river.

This story was originally published July 4, 2023 at 11:30 PM.