Search continues for father missing in the Delta

The search continues today for a father missing in the Delta after he jumped into the water to save his son.

The incident happened shortly before noon on Friday near the confluence of the San Joaquin and Mokelumne Rivers near Isleton. A father was taking his three children fishing when his 1 year old son fell off the boat. The boy was wearing a life jacket. The father told the other two children, a 10 year old girl and a younger sibling to turn off the boat and then he jumped in to rescue his son. The children were not able to shut the boat off. The father was not wearing a life vest.

The 10 year old called 911 and helped guide rescuers to her location on the boat. Rescuers later found the 1 year old in the water. He was not breathing at the time. CPR was started and the boy was flown to a local hospital where he is serious condition.

Authorities searched for the father until the evening and called off the search.

The Sacramento Sheriff’s Department issued the following press release:

NEWS RELEASE: BOATING ACCIDENT AND RESCUE IN ISLETON

On March 29, 2019, at 11:30 A.M, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 transfer call from the California Highway Patrol. The caller, a 10-year-old child explained to the dispatcher that her 1-year-old brother had fallen out of a boat while fishing on the San Joaquin River with her father and younger sibling. The child indicated her father dove into the river after the child and related the child was wearing a life vest, however, her father was not.

The dispatcher quickly worked to pinpoint the exact location of the child using her training along with the specialized tools available to her. While she continued speaking with the child, she and other dispatchers began requesting resources from throughout the region to bring assistance to them.

The Sheriff’s Office Marine Enforcement Detail was immediately dispatched to the area along with a CHP helicopter, Contra Costa County Sheriff Marine assets, United States Coast Guard, Rio Vista Fire Department, and the River Delta Fire Department.

A U.S. Coast Guard rescue boat reached the area first and located the victim’s boat as it was drifting in the waterway. After rescuing the children in the boat, the Coast Guard boat then located the1-year-old child floating in the river. First responders immediately began performing life-saving measures on the child including CPR as the child did not initially have a pulse. The child was taken to a nearby dock where he was transferred to a waiting CHP helicopter. The 1-year-old child was transported via helicopter to a Sacramento area hospital where he had a pulse on arrival and remains in serious condition.

Both children rescued from the boat are in good health and with family. The father of the children has been identified as a 41-year-old male of Asian descent and he is still outstanding. Search crews from the Sheriff’s Office are still combing the area and will continue searching depending on conditions. The river in this area is approximately fifty degrees and due to heavy rainfall and runoff in our region, the river is flowing very fast.

The Sacramento Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all of the agencies who assisted in this rescue including the Drowning Accident Rescue Team (DART) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.