Man Drowns at Donner Lake After Pontoon Boat Drifts Away

TRUCKEE — An emergency response began at Donner Lake around 4:40 PM on Sunday after reports of a missing adult male last seen struggling to stay above water. Public safety personnel from several agencies arrived and launched water rescue operations. Those efforts did not succeed. Authorities later confirmed that 36-year-old Juan Carlos Garcia-Guitierrez of Lancaster, California, had drowned.

Garcia-Guitierrez had been recreating on Donner Lake aboard a pontoon boat before he jumped into the water to swim. Wind conditions caused the boat to drift away from him once he entered the lake, and he was unable to return to the vessel. The man was not wearing a personal flotation device at the time, according to the Truckee Police Department.

Search operations continued into darkness. Favorable wind conditions allowed Truckee Police personnel to continue working into the evening. At around 9:20 PM, the department’s underwater remotely operated vehicle located Garcia-Guitierrez at a depth of 105 feet. The vehicle recovered the body and brought it ashore.

Officials then released the decedent to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, which serves as the county coroner. The boat launch at the scene, which had been closed during rescue efforts, reopened to the public shortly afterward. The Truckee Police Department credited the Truckee Fire Protection District, the California State Parks Police, and the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office for their joint work in the rescue and recovery operations. The department also expressed its sincerest condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Garcia-Guitierrez.