Man Says He Wants to Die, Then Drowns

A 22-year-old Los Angeles man drowned Sunday in Castaic Lake moments after telling his girlfriend that he wanted to die, authorities said.

The victim, whose identity was withheld until relatives could be notified, had been drinking beer with his girlfriend and several others at the southwest end of the lake shortly before the 3 p.m. drowning, said Sgt. Bill Benton of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

At one point, the man “told his girlfriend that he wanted to die,” and she walked off, Benton said. The man’s body was spotted a short time later floating in the lake, Benton said.

Paramedics unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate the victim, who was airlifted to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, Benton said. He was pronounced dead at 4 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.

The incident is under investigation.