Update: Man who drowned on Kings River identified. Another man drowns on Tule River
One man drowned and another was rescued Sunday afternoon in the Kings River in Fresno County.
Deputies received a report at 4 p.m. of two men in the Kings River who were struggling to stay above water at Winton Park, downstream from Pine Flat Dam. Neither man was wearing a life jacket, deputies said.
The sheriff’s helicopter and Fresno County firefighters responded to the scene to try to find the men.
Deputies aboard the helicopter found one man safe on an island downstream. The other man was nearby, submerged in the water.
The pilot landed on the island and the crew was able to get the man out of the water and into the helicopter and was flown a short distance away to where EMS personnel were staged.
The man was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The other man picked up from the island was expected to be OK, deputies said.
The man who drowned was identified Monday as Everardo Saucedo, 30. It was not known where he was living, the Fresno County Coroner’s Office said.
It was the second death on the Kings River in three days. On Friday, a 65-year-old man was pulled from the river near the scene of Sunday’s drowning. Russell Mayfield of Visalia died Saturday.
Deputies are encouraging the community to stay out of local rivers right now as conditions are dangerous with water temperatures in the low 50s and currents are strong as dams released large amounts of water due to the snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada.
Drowning on Tule River in Tulare County
A man in his 30s drowned Monday on the Tule River above Upper Coffee Camp, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said.
The man went missing in an area known as “The Stairs” after going over a small waterfall/slide.
TCSO deputies, along with Tulare County Fire and Medical personnel, immediately began searching for the man.
The man was found about an hour later in a nearby swimming hole. Life-saving efforts were performed and he was taken to Sierra View District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
This story was originally published April 20, 2025 at 9:36 PM.
