Man dives off California waterfall, two others try to save him; all three drown

The bodies of three men who vanished after diving into a Northern California waterfall have now been recovered, authorities said.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to their families, friends, and all those affected by this tragic loss,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office posted on social media Sunday.

The Sheriff’s Office identified two of the men as Matthew Schoenecker, 50, and Valentino Creus, 59, who both hail from the Los Angeles area. The third was identified as 44-year-old New Yorker Matthew Anthony.

The three men went missing the afternoon of June 18, after they reportedly entered the water at Rattlesnake Falls in Soda Springs and did not resurface. The area is located about 40 miles west of North Lake Tahoe.

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The three men were part of a group of six who ventured to the falls, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The other three people were airlifted out of the area that evening.

Personnel from the sheriff’s dive and search-and-rescue teams combed the area in search of the missing trio, with assistance from the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s Technical Rescue Team. But authorities said those efforts were hindered by poor underwater visibility caused by debris and strong winds.

Juan Heredia — a diver with the Stockton-based Angels Recovery Dive Team, a nonprofit that specializes in recovering drowned bodies for grieving families — discovered a trio of drowned divers Saturday morning at Rattlesnake Falls.

(Courtesy of Juan Heredia)

Juan Heredia — a diver with the Stockton-based Angels Recovery Dive Team, a nonprofit that specializes in recovering drowned bodies for grieving families — discovered the trio Saturday morning.

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Heredia said he located Anthony’s body about 45 feet underwater in the waterfall pool that leads into the North Fork American River. He found the bodies of Schoenecker and Creus together under the waterfall, at a depth of about 47 feet.

Heredia said he was contacted by a family friend and hiked about seven miles through rugged terrain to locate the site and the bodies.

Creus, the least experienced of the trio when it came to diving, initially hesitated before jumping into the waterfall, according to Heredia.

“Big Matt [Schoenecker] tried to help Valentino, who was in trouble,” Heredia said, adding that Schoenecker was a former high school diving champion who knew the waterfall well. “He started panicking and then the two Matts jumped in to save him, but they couldn’t and they drowned.”