O.C. Woman Lost in River at Yosemite

The victim of an apparent drowning in Yosemite National Park was identified Saturday as Michelle Ann Boettcher, 23, of Huntington Beach.

Boettcher fell into the frigid waters of the Merced River on Friday evening after climbing down to the river bank to take photographs, a National Park Service spokeswoman said.

Norma L. Boettcher said Saturday night from her home in Huntington Beach that her daughter had not been found despite an extensive search of the river by park rangers, assisted by dogs and helicopters. She said she was told that the rescue effort was called off at 6 p.m. until morning.

Park spokeswoman Lisa Dapprich said that search efforts Saturday concentrated on a 4-mile stretch of river near the Arch Rock park entrance, but were hampered by swift currents and high water. The search will resume at daybreak, she said.

“They are telling me it doesn’t look very good,” said Norma Boettcher, who shared a home with Michelle, her youngest daughter. She added that authorities have advised her that the chances of finding her daughter alive diminish with each day.

Boettcher said she had encouraged her daughter to take the trip to Yosemite as a break from her busy schedule as an ultrasound technician at Charter Community Hospital in Hawaiian Gardens. Boettcher, a widow, said that she and her daughter usually vacationed together but that this time the young woman went with a nurse who was a co-worker at the hospital.

“This is her first trip out on her own,” said the mother. “She was so excited.”

Boettcher said her daughter finished her work at the hospital at midnight Thursday and began her drive to Yosemite at 3 a.m. to miss the traffic. She said she has learned that her daughter and companion checked into a motel near the park, showered, napped and set off for Yosemite to look at the scenery.

She said she started to worry when her daughter did not call home. Her anxieties were confirmed when two Huntington Beach policemen appeared at her door at 3:30 p.m. Saturday to tell her what had happened.