OC Boy Dead, His Brother Missing In Yosemite River
YOSEMITE (CBSLA.com) — A 10-year-old boy drowned after he and his 6-year-old brother were swept down a river in Yosemite National Park earlier this week, according to authorities.
Officials said currents in the Merced River swept the boys downstream near the Vernal Fall footbridge. Authorities said the boys' family stopped by the river to cool off, but they quickly got caught in the current around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Rescuers pulled the 10-year-old out of the water about 150 yards downstream, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Officials are still searching for the victim's brother, Jacob Adams.
The boys and their parents are residents of Anaheim.
Stacey Butler, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, went Thursday to the Calvary Chapel of East Anaheim, the church that organized the family's outing. She said congregants were in prayer that recovery teams would find the body of the missing 6-year-old.
Butler spoke with Pastor Bob Kopeny, who was leading the trip, by phone.
"They were staying with us. They were part of our camping week. However, as a group we went down to Bass Lake that day and they as a family decided to go down to Yosemite Valley. That's when that happened."
Kopeny added that other congregants are trying to help the family cope the best they can.
"We went down to be with the mom, to walk her though the initial shock of this whole loss. And, of course, they are primarily concerned with recovering their second son who has not been found yet."
"This is devastating. It's very sad," churchgoer Leah Spangler said. Pastor Kopeny is asking everyone to pray for the Adams family. The mother dove into the water and went over a waterfall trying to save her sons. She has been hospitalized with a broken ankle and damaged disks in her back.
Four people have drowned at Yosemite this year.
